SRI #VADIRAJA VIRACHITA “#TEERTHA #PRABANDHA” ಶ್ರೀ ವಾದಿರಾಜ ವಿರಚಿತ “#ತೀರ್ಥ #ಪ್ರಬಂಧ”

SRI  #VADIRAJA VIRACHITA “#TEERTHA #PRABANDHA”

ಶ್ರೀ ವಾದಿರಾಜ ವಿರಚಿತ “#ತೀರ್ಥ #ಪ್ರಬಂಧ”

Puri Jagannatha/ಪುರೀ ಜಗನ್ನಾಥ

ಜಗನ್ನಾಥೋ ವಿಜಯತೇ ಜಗತಾಮರ್ಚಿತಸ್ಸದಾ|

ಜ್ಞಾನಾಖ್ಯರಮ್ಯಪರಶೋಃ ಯಂ ದಾರು ಜಗುರಾಗಮಾಃ||2||

JagannAThO vijayatE jagatAmarchitassadA|

JnAnAKhyaramyaparashOho yam dAru jagurAgamAha||2||

जगन्नाथॊ विजयतॆ जगतामर्चितस्सदा।

ज्ञानाख्यरम्यपरशॊः यं दारु जगुरागमाः॥२॥

SUMMARY: Always, Lord Jagannatha, the supreme man, is super most and most glorious. Vedas hail Sri Jagannatha as a tree that holds the spectacular axe-like knowledge.

Sri Vadirajaru here states that Sri Jagannatha at Puri is always worshipped by the most righteous. He is like the handle to which the attractive handle of the axe-like knowledge of Vedas is stuck.

Sri Badari Kshetra is said to belong to Kruta Yuga, Rameshwara to Treta Yuga, Dwaraka to Dwapara Yuga while Puri Jagannatha belongs to Kali Yuga. Earlier, a mountain called Neelachala existed at the location where the present Puri is seen. On this mountain there was a statue of Sri Neela Madhava and this statue was being worshipped by deities. When the mountain disappeared as it went underground, the deities took away the statue of Neelamadhava to heavens. Therefore, Puri is also known as Neelachala even to this day. The blue disc (Neela Chakra) on the tower of Jagannatha temple is called as Neelachaitra and the area up to which this disc can be seen is said to be Jagannatha Kshetra. This holy place is also known as Purushottama Kshetra and Sree Kshetra. Since the place is shaped like a conch, it is also called as Shankha Kshetra. It is said that in this place, the Prasad, the balance of food offered to Lord as Naivedya or offering, is distributed among all people.

Legend: Once during Dwapara Yuga, the queens in harem of Lord Krishna appealed to Rohini to describe the childhood plays of Sri Krishna. Though Rohini refused to describe, she had to finally accede due to the insistence of the queens. However, Rohini did not want Subhadra to be present among the queens and therefore she asked Subhadra to stand outside the door and prevent anyone trying to enter the room in which Rohini and other queens were sitting. When Subhadra was donning the role of a door keeper, Sri Krishna and Balarama came there. Subhadra stopped both of them and prevented them from entering the room. The trio was standing outside the room, hearing the narrative of Rohini and enjoying every single moment. They were dumbfounded and appeared to have been frozen. At this juncture, Devarishi Sri Narada arrived there. Sri Narada was so much charmed by that scene of the trio standing there that he appealed to the tri to stay in the same posture and get worshipped by the people, eternally. Sri Krishna promised that the trio would appear in the same posture as wooden idols during Kali Yuga and accept the worship offered by the devotees.

In the ancient times, Indradyumana, the king of Malva, came to Neelachala to

offer worship Sri Neelamadhava there. But, the statue of Neelamadhava had been

taken away by the deities. The king was utterly disappointed. Meanwhile, a mystic

Voice was heard saying: “You will soon have the Darshan of Darubrahmarupa

Jagannatha, form of Sri Madhava.” The king waited there, along with his entire

band. One day, a huge log of wood came floating in the sea. The king immediately

thought of getting a statue of Sri Narayana created from that wooden log.

However, Vishwakarma, the celestial sculptor, came there in the guise of an elderly

carpenter and said that he would carve a statue of the Lord in a closed room on

the condition that none should enter the room till he completed the work.

Although several days passed by, the elderly carpenter did not open the door of

            the room into which he had gone. The queen insisted that the carpenter might have died of starvation and it was essential to open the door to see him, instantly. Accordingly, the people opened the door. The carpenter was not there inside the house but very beautiful and rare statues of Jagannatha, Balarama and Subhadra were here inside. The king was very unhappy about the disappearance of the carpenter. The king heard another invisible voice: “Do not be worried. Arrange for the consecration of our statues.” The king promptly arranged for the consecration of the three statues of Sri Jagannatha, Subhadra Devi and Balarama.

            Sri Vadirajaru has described the three statues in a very cryptic and short stanza.

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