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During Ratha Yatra, the Jagannath temple of Puri becomes
the centre of all activities. A majestic structure of 65
metres in height, the temple was built during the
twelfth century A.D. in the Kalinga style. It houses
three splendid wooden idols of Lord Jagannath(Lord
Krishna), Balabhadra and Subhadra. Every year during the
festival, the idols are taken through the streets of
Puri on beautifully decorated wooden chariots and
journeyed to the Gundicha mandir where the idols of the
deities are dismounted from the chariots and taken
inside. After a week, the deities are returned back on
chariots to the Jagannath temple. There is an ancient
legend describing how the images first came to the
temple. The story goes that a long time ago, a few years
after the great Mahabharat war, a king named Indradyumna
lived in Avanti, the capital of Malwa of which he was
the ruler. His chief minister Vidyapati had a dream
where the god Nilamadhava was in a temple situated in a
deep jungle jealously guarded by a tribal chief on an
island known as Swarn Deep, in Udra Desi (Orissa),
beckoning to him to come there. Vidyapati told the king
about this dream and was soon dispatched to that town to
find out why the good Lord had come in his dream.
Vidyapati took two years to reach Nilakandara. To his
dismay he found that v deity had vanished from the
temple. This upset everyone, particularly Indradyumna.
Still, he decided to perform the Ashvamedha Yagna on the
shores of Udra Desi. During the yagna he heard the voice
of Lord Nilamadhava asking him to look for a piece of
wood with special divine specifications marked on it.
When all the rituals of the yagna were completed they
saw, to their amazement, a log of wood floating near the
shore which they discovered was that of the neem tree.
The presence of some strange markings on it convinced
them that this was the divine wood they had been told
of. At this very moment a man walked in and introduced
himself as a carpenter. He said that he was the fittest
person to be entrusted with the task of shaping the
wood, as he understood the sacred markings. He, however,
put some conditions before the king. He said that he
should not be disturbed while executing the task and no
one should enter the chamber where he would work without
eating or drinking or sleeping for eight full days and
that he should himself open the door when the task was
completed. The king agreed and the carpenter went inside
the room with the log of wood and shut himself in. When
four or five days passed without a sound coming from the
room, the king got apprehensive and ordered his men to
open the door. The door was opened and the king found,
to his surprise, no one inside except four half finished
idols.
Even today, everyone believes that it was Lord Krishna
who had come as the carpenter and fashioned the idols.
They remain so even when remade. They had no hands or
feet and so they remain to this day. New ones are only
made in a year which has two Ashads and this happens
every 12 to 19 years. This event is known as Nav Kalever.
The idols are designed exactly as the original and
painted also in the same manner. The chariots are mended
every year since they lie out in the open.
Another fascinating legend tied in to the Ratha Yatra
festival tells of the ancient monarch of Puri,
Purshottam Dev. The king was fascinated by Padmavati,
the daughter of the king of Kanchi of the South, and
wanted to marry her. The father of the girl was
unwilling to marry her off to the king of Puri. Not one
to give up so easily, Purshottam went into battle with
the king of Kanchi. But he lost the war. This made him
very angry. He prayed fervently to Lord Jagannath, and
again went to war with the neighbouring state. With the
blessings of the Lord, he won the war this time. But
such was his indignation at the defeated foe that he
declared that he would take Padmavati to his kingdom and
marry her off to a chandal (the lowest of the low
caste). But before he could find a chandal the festival
of Rath Yatra came about and the king got busy making
preparations for the festival. He had to perform the
rituals that he, as the king of Puri, had to perform. As
was the custom, he took a broom and began to sweep the
path in front of the chariots. The head priest was a
very intelligent and pragmatic person; he knew that the
king's daughter must not be insulted. So he quickly
declared that since the king was doing the work of a
chandal he was now a chandal himself and as such could
marry the daughter of the defeated king, and so the
princess was married to the king of Puri.
Another stirring tale related to the festival is
found in the Bhagvat Purana (Hindu scripture) and tells
how Kansa, the maternal uncle of Lord Krishna, sent
Akrur to bring the Lord and his elder brother Balram, to
Mathura from Gokul. His intention was to kill the two
brothers as a divine voice had warned him of his death
in the hands of Lord Krishna. When the brothers were
ready to leave for Mathura, the Gopis and Gopals -
childhood friends and playmates of Gopala (Lord Krishna)
blocked the way of their chariot. When the Lord consoled
them and allayed their fears, they bid him a weepy and
painful farewell. The Festival of Rath Yatra is said to
commemorate this incident of overwhelming separation.
Chappan
Bhog of Lord Jagannath
Daily Mahaprasad of Lord Jagannath
Life style
of Puri people
The Kitchen of Srimandir, Biggest in the World.
History of the Narendra Tank
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