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Jai Jai Ramakrishna Hari

Pilgrimage to Pandharpur near   Sholapur in Maharashtra  and  having  darshan of Lord Vittal  is incomplete without mentioning  the great devotee Pundalikan. 

Pundalaikan who hailed from southern part of  India  undertook a pilgrimage to kasi along with his parents and family .  As his old  parents couldn’t withstand the long journey they camped  on the banks of Bhima river in the present Pandharpur.

 

   As there was no improvement in their fitness and due to their old  age , they decided to  stay there forever serving LORD and his devotees .

 Pundalikan  was  a caring and obedient son .

Always in the service of his parents chanting the holy name he continued to start a fresh life being at this new place. 

 

The Divine Name of ‘ Jai Jai Ramakrishna Hari Jai Jai  Vasudeva Hari’  ever reverberating in this holy town made him swoon into transcendental bliss  .

Pundalikan was so concerned that he  changed the course of  the river so that it would pass by his hut to enable his parents for taking their daily bath .

Even today we can see the  shape of this river  looks like  a crescent  of moon  and hence the river came to be known as “Chandrabhaga” river.

All compassionate Lord Krishna  in Dwaraka,  wanted  the world to know about   this  great devotee  Pundalikan  who was serving his  parents with utmost sincerity .

  The   cheerful obedience mixed with devotion attracted  Lord  personally  to visit  his hut to bless him. It was a direct meeting of the great Lord  with his favorite  devotee .

Lord arrived  near his hut  silently  and was immersed in listening to his devotees Nama sankirtana. 

  Lord walked inside his hut  like a normal  man and  looking at his  devotee  called him. 

Pundalikan was  engrossed in the Holy name and  was serving his old parents by comforting their legs . 

The voice was melodious …… unheard ….  

My son !!

Lord once again called

Pundalikaa…..

Look  ..

Pundalik was in trance and that bliss he was already enjoying the holy name  in his transcendental mood  and hence he did not want to come out of that mood ..

and he  did not want to disturb his  old parents sleep as they too were engrossed in the Holy name  ..

He attempted to whisper slowly  his helplessness  ,that he couldn’t come and receive the honorable guest due to his position .

He requested  him to  please  wait  . 

 

 

He presumed that once his parents were fast asleep he could take leave from them and attend the respected guest .

He innocently  requested the revered guest to rest .

 

 

Lord replied , I find only bricks around . Any way  as desired by his devotee he just stood  on a small  brick which was lying nearby.

The demigod Indra to atone for his brahmahathi  dosham  immediately took the form of brick  awaiting Lord’s arrival so that the Lord would place HIS lotus  feet. The divine incident was happening at the great devotees hut.

Once he observed that his parents were fast asleep , he comforted them and looked around .

Pundalikan  had a glance of the wonderful  darshan .

 

 

Lord Krishna as Vitthala, standing on a brick, hands on hips, with a smile on his lips.

He scanned the lovely form further .  His eyes were starving for that darshan .Torrent of tears flowed ..Speechless .   His soul now rejoiced in pure love ..

His breath that was synchronized with the holy name could swim deep in that ocean of sheer bliss ..

.Panduranga …

My Lord !! Vittala…

 

 

Nothing more ..Let this remain with me .

..Oh ! Lord …

 

 

Ocean of Compassion … You came to see this worm …

And..

LORD !  Please forgive me for asking you to stand on the brick ..

Pundalikan was inconsolable ….

Lord Panduranga, Lord Vittala  the enchanter of the Universe, wearing  ‘Makara Kundala’ (fish shaped ear stud) in his ears, …….

 

 

Peethambara (clad in yellow silk), wearing exquisite  royal ornaments, a bewitching smile playing on His lips and having the insignia of Goddess Lakshmi on His chest,  two palms on His hips was looking at Pundalikan ..

 

 

Pundalik     was overwhelmed and touched .

He submitted to LORD for  HIM to stay there forever.

Lord with a enchanting smile replied ..

My dear son !

Now an forever will I remain on this brick standing to see all my children seeking me…

Rukmini ,SAtyabhama arrived later , assumed the same posture of Lord  and blessed Pundalikan.

 

 

AT the behest of Pundalikan, Lord resides here and gives darshan to millions of devotees . As Lord stands on Vittu(brick) , HE is  glorified as  as Vittalan.

The place where the Lord   stands is the present temple. 

The Saints like Namdeo, Dnyaneshwar to Tukaram wove their life around Vitthala and saw in Vitthala their brother, father, friend and a compassionate Lord who could bless them with ultimate salvation.

“Vittala ”  is  our Compassionate Lord who mingled with all the devotees by taking various roles like a cobbler, barber, servant, potter, gardener thus assisting his devotees in household chores and helping them in their own spiritual up liftment and seek salvation

Pundalikan and his parents attained Lord’s feet after the divine darshan .   The Pundalika Temple is about half a km from the Vitthal Temple.

 

 

This temple marks the spot where Pundalika, the Lord’s devotee, spent the last years of his life and also is the place of his Samadhi. It is on the riverbank of Chandrabhaga.

Great Bhagavathas have composed wonderful Naama sankirtana which swoon even a rock to breath the holy name and reach HIS holy abode ..One such kirtan is presented below sung by Sri Kadyanallur Rajagopal  feeds the soul with a grand feast of holy names  .The lyrics is shared below for the feel …

Shanka Chakra Dhara Vaijayanthi Dara  
Pithambaradara Govardhanodhara
Tulasimala Shobhita Gala               
Garuda Gamana Hari Pankaja Nabha
Vittala Yere       Pandhari Raya      
Mastaka Linga Swaroopa Linga     

Roopa Banga Sajjana Sangha  
Yadukula Thilaka        Manmatha Janaka 
 Pathitha Pavana       Dena Dayalo  
Vittala Yere Pandhari Raya

Tribhuvana Roopa     ………..
 Vishwa Swaroopa     ……….
Bhava Bhaya Thapa   .
Harithi Papa   Rukmini Kantha  
  Roopa Anantha 
  Janani Janaka     Tuja Mavakalena
Vittala Yere     Pandhari Raya…………

Chandrabhageteeram Ubha Vitevari –
Kara Katavari Ranga Shilevari     
 Mahadwari Garuda Vahini 
Vinavinatha Janardhana Swamy
Vittala Yere Pandhari Raya

Panduranga       Panduranga – Panduranga

Rukmini Kantha    
Roopa Anantha 
 Janani Janaka  …….   Tuja Mavakalena
Vittala Yere     Pandhari Raya
Chandrabhageteeram Ubha Vitevari –
Kara Katavari Ranga Shilevari       
   Mahadwari Garuda Vahini   
Vinavinatha Janardhana Swamy
Vittala Yere Pandhari Raya
Panduranga       Panduranga – Panduranga

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Pics Credits : Google images uploaded by advanced devotees

Videos : Credits to all devotees who shared in social media

            Puri” means fullness. This holiest temple town is in the form of a conch. It is also known as  Jagannath dhaam-the abode of Jaganath, Purushotama   kshetra,   Nilachala  Nilagiri-     the blue mountain,   Sri kshetram-the abode of Sri(Lakshmi).

          The holy dham vibrates with Mahamantra and other  holy names of the Lord. It is also known as “Yamanika tirtha”-the place where Yama,the God of death cannot enter.

         The greatness about the holiest shrine Puri is mentioned by LORD

 HIMSELF in Narada Purana as:

“PRATIMAAM TATRA TAAM DRISTVAA SVAYAM DEVENA NIRMITAAM
ANAAYAASENA VAI YAANTI BHAVANAM ME TATO NARAAH

The Supreme LORD  reveals to  Mahalakshmi”

 Jagannath Puri is one of the four holy dhaams (Sacred places) located on the eastern part of India  near the shores of Bay of Bengal. The other three dhams are Badrinath located in the North, Rameswaram in the South, Dwaraka in the West. Sripad Sankaracharyar, Swamy Ramanujar, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu are the prominent acharyars who have  visited this place.

                       The great saint Sankaracharya established a mutt at this place and composed the famous “JAGANATHASHTAKA” in which he prays  Lord to help him cross over the ocean of samsara.The temple is situated over Nilachala mountain.

Out of the 4 entrances to the temple,  the eastern gate  is glorified as  the “Simha dwaaram”. At the entrance, we can find small replica of Lord Jaganatha and Sri Ganesha. deities .

Rath Yatra  is held in the month of Aashada,  when the Lord HIMSELF steps out of the temple to give darshan to all the lucky souls.  Usually we find Dwaja sthambham in front of all the Sri Vaishnava temples. But at Puri, we find Aruna sthambham.

A huge stone pillar is erected on top of which is Aruna,the charioteer of Sun God with folded hands waits for Lord Jaganaths commands  . It symbolizes that those who worship the Lord will be enlightened . The figure of Aruna is kept in a height which equals the height of the Lord in the garbagriham.

We have to trek   22 steps to reach the garbagriham  which split into sets of 5  more steps. One has to climb 5 steps, walk few distance, again take another flight of 5 steps and so on.

These steps denote that one has to leave aside the 5 worldly fetters-lust, anger, greed, jealousy and pride.

The first five steps represent the five outer sense organs-eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin. 

The next 5 steps represent the 5 pranas or life airs-prana, apaana, vyaana, udaana, samaana.

The next five steps represent the inner sense or tanmaatras-rupa(sight), rasa (taste), gandha (smell), sabda (sound),  sparsa (touch).

The next five steps are tha panch maha bhutas- earth, water, air, fire and ether.

The last two steps represent buddhi or intelligence and ahankara or false ego-the false conception of identifying the soul with the body.

One by one all the must be purified before passing into the Inner sanctum of the temple and having darshan of LORD Jaganath

Huge mud vessels containing offerings to lord that becomes maha prashad (every day 56 items of bhog (food offerings)  is offered  to the Lord eight times.

Elders point out that the Lord gets up at Tirumala , has lunch at Puri, and relaxes at Srirangam.

The moment one thinks of Puri, he is immediately reminded of the Mahaprashad.

As is customary in all the Sri Vaishnavite temples, we offered our obeisances to (Peria Thiruvadee)Garudazhwan before having darshan of the Lord. Here , Garuda is in the form of a wooden log. In the big hall in front of the garbagriham, there is a pillar which devotees circumbulate .

This is the place where Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu visited this place to have darshan of the Lord, he fell into ecstasy looking at the mohana roopam of the Lord.

He was in a trance for many hours totally absorbed in the Lord. (Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is an incarnation of Lord  Krishna and Radharani.

He appeared to promote prema bhakti as the easiest means of attaining the Lord in Kali Yugam. He taught that chanting the Lord’s names as in Mahamantra is the easiest way to reach the lotus feet of the Lord .

Most of the teachings of Mahaprabhu connects to the principles of Sri sampradaya followed  by JagathAcharyar  Swamy Ramanujacharyar’s )

In another instance, when an old lady was struggling to have darshan of the Lord, Mahaprabhu carried her on his shoulders so that she could have Lord’s darshan clearly. This incident in carved in the pillar .

Subhadra, Lord Krishna’s sister , painted in yellow marking auspiciousness is in the middle  On HER right is Baladeva in white and to HER left is Jagannath, the Lord of the Universe who is Neelavannan(darkish) in colour Lord  Baladeva and  Lord Jaganath are on the either sides of Subhadramaata.  Near Lord Jaganath’s  is Goddess Rukmini Devi’. Lord Jaganath is the tallest among  all – Sri Sudarshana chakram also graces the devotees .

The outstretched arms of the Lord were like inviting to embrace us.

The Lord’s eyes are wide open(without eye lids) so that HE can constantly pour HIS abundant grace on us.

A darshan of Lord Jaganath relieves one from the cycle of births and deaths.Holy bath is given only once in a year which is celebrated as Snana Yatra on Jeshta Pournami day before Rath Yathra.

On other days, a mirror is placed in front of the deities and the holy bath (abhishekam is performed to the Lords’ reflection .)

Kathopanishad says:-
Atmaanam rathinam viddhi shareeram rathamevatu
Buddhim tu saarathim viddhi manah pragrahameva cha

The body is the Chariot and the soul is the deity installed in the chariot. The wisdom acts as the charioteer to control the mind and thoughts. Rath Yatra is celebrated in Puri in the month of Aashadam(June-July) on the second day of the waxing moon (After Amavasya) in Sukla paksham with great pomp.

Lakhs of devotees assemble at Puri to participate in this and get a chance to pull the chariot unmindful of the stampedes.

A glimpse of Lord Jagannatha on the chariot is considered to be very auspicious and saints, poets and scriptures have repeatedly glorified the sanctity of this special festival.

The sanctity of the festival is such that even a touch of the chariot or even the ropes with which these are pulled is considered enough to confer the results of several pious deeds or penance for ages.

THE MAKING OF THE HUGE CHARIOTS

The wooden logs cut from Phassi, Dhausa tree are initially set to float in Mahanadi river and are brought to Puri by road.

Every year new chariots are made for Rath Yatra using these logs of wood. The construction of the 3 chariots starts on the auspicious day of Akshaya Trithyai-(the 3rd day in the bright fornight)in the month of Visakha- about two and half months before the Rath Yatra.

Only the descendants of the original carpenter are privileged to construct the chariots . After performing yaga, the construction of the chariot commences amidst chanting of mantras. During this time,some important events like Chandan Yatra, Snana Yatra and the Lord falling sick take place in the temple.

Lord Jaganath along with Subhadra and Baladeva leave the main temple and go to Gundicha temple which is about 2 kms north of the temple.

The Lordships leave in 3 separate chariots specially made for this purpose and give darshan to all the devotees including the persons who are not allowed inside the temple.

They stay at Gundicha temple for 9 days and return on the 10 th day.

Gundicha temple is also known as Janaka Puri , Yajnavedi(as this was the place where Brahma performed first fire sacrifice), Adapa Mandapam (mandapa where the deities are isolated).

The Lord moves about as per HIS free will  the travel time cannot be ascertained.

There were instances where the Ratham would not move for days .

As the three chariots move about simultaneously, the road through which the chariot passes is very wide and is known as Grand Road like in Kanchipuram.

       To enact that everyone is same in front of the eyes of the Lord, before the procession starts, in olden times, the king of the state used to clean the way using a golden broom.

(This practice was started by King Prataparudra who was a great follower of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

He expressed his humbleness by sweeping the road before the procession started, he used to press Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s legs to gain his audience.

A narration about Rath Yatra without mentioning Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s leela is incomplete.

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu after embracing Sanyasrama spent most of his time at Puri in the Lord’s presence . he used to sing and dance in ecstasy for hours together in front ofLord Jagannathar.

Once during Rath Yatra, Mahaprabhu was leading His sankeertana. His disciples were in groups at different locations and chanting the Mahamantra. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared in all the nine groups singing and dancing in ecstasy at the same time.

This was observed by His foremost devotees. He thus revealed that he was an incarnation of the Lord in Kali Yuga. Puri is still vibrant with Gaudiya Sampradayam established by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The procession winds slowly through the Grand street and reaches Gundicha temple. This is considered to be Lord’s aunt’s place. Some refer Gundicha as King Indradyumna’s wife.

In the Gundicha temple, the deities are placed in the respective altars and offered puja for 9 days. Devotees throng to this temple to have Lord’s darshan as it is considered to be beneficial for one’s upliftment. On the 10th day when the deities return to the main temple, they are adorned sith golden crowns,necklaces,belts, golden hands, feet and weapons. This is known as “Suna vesa”.

NEELACHALA NIVASAYA NITYAYA PARAMATMANE
SUBHADRA PRAANA NATHAYA JAGAN NATHAYA MANGALAM.
SRIYA KAANTHAYA KALYANA NIDHAYE NIDHAYETHINAM
SRI VENKATA NIVASAYA SRINIVASAYA MANGALAM

May all auspiciousness and unstinting bhakthi to LORD JAGGANTHA be with us
Please forgive this servant of yours for committing any offence by my inabilty to glorify LORD as no words are enough to speak about LORDS opulence.

Our  Sri Sri Gour Nitai  deities at Thiruvengadam ( Residence ) who had  arrived from Sri Jagganath Puri Dhaam ..

Lord Krishna  in Guruvayoor stands out and has enticed everyone the most.  The beautiful stature of Lord Guruvayoor attracts the devotees to come in large numbers  and imagine to  hug the Lord.

Guruvayoor is located in Trichur district in Southern India.

Sri Narayana Bhattatri composed the beautiful Narayaneeyam, containing thousand slokas which is sung in most of the houses in India .

Guru and Vayu  adorned  the  deity  of Lord  Krishna to Narayana Saras and  ParamaShivan  was residing in a temple. On seeing  Lord  Krishna, it is said that  Shiva moved out of the temple and shifted to a place called Mammiyoor.

So  ParamaShiva gave his own place to Lord Krishna and that is verily where Guru and Vayu consecrated Krishna.

The little Krishna stands there as “Guruvayurappa” even today. ParamaShiva’s temple in Mammiyoor is about a kilometer away from the Guruvayur temple. It is believed that  Shiva looks at Lord Krishna and is doing penance in Mammiyoor.

Poonthanam was a great devotee of Lord Guruvayurappan . (Kerala ) . He was an ordinary and simple man . He was not familiar with Sanskrit . He used to sing praises of the Lord in Malayalam which was his mother tongue. 

Out of sheer love he wished to chant Sri Vishnusahsranamam  .

He  started  reciting Vishnu Shahasarnamam .

Among the 1000  holy names  at one particular place ,  instead of reciting the Holy name  as “Amara Prabhuhu” he recited it as “Mara Prabhuhu”.

Amara connotes Devas and Amara Prabhuhu means the ‘Lord of all Devas’.

Another great devotee of Lord Krishna ( Guruvayurappan ) Bhattathiri   a Sanskrit scholar the author of the epic Srimad Narayaneeyam , who was passing by  , heard Poonthanam reciting the nama as Mara Prabhuhu.

The next day, Poonthanam again recited the name as Mara Prabhuhu. Bhattathiri who was passing by  became  upset  hearing Poonthanam’s recital of Vishnu Shasarnamam He walked near to his place and roughed him not to  chant Vishnu Shasarnamam since he had not learnt it properly. Poonthanam was sad for the offence .He pleaded LORD to forgive for his poor knowledge in Sanskrit.

That very night, the all compassionate Lord  Krishna  arrived in Bhattathiri’s dream  and commanded  him that he was pleased with Poonthanam’s  devotion more than Bhattathiri’s scholarliness.

He also clarified that the holy name  he chanted was correct and  is indeed “Mara Prabhu” which connotes “Lord of all human beings, plants and animals”.  Lord  says my dear child ,  I am the bhagawan of amarars, then are you are the prabhu of trees. Because It is I who created the marars themselves. If a child is reading, don’t you know the meaning of it, being a maha pandit.

 Asvatthah sarva-vrikshanam (10.26), have I not told you in the Gita,

Among trees, I am the sacred Ashvattaha!

Why dont you say so?

Therefore I don’t need your vibhakthi, but I need Poonthanam bhakthi only,

‘Coming to terms ,  Bhattadri realises the offence he had committed .

The very next day, Bhattathiri  rushed to  his house and prostrated unto Poonthanam and that “Amara Prabhuhu” and “Mara Prabhuhu” are indeed correct and requested him to continue chanting the nama verse as “Mara Prabhuhu”.

It was indeed a divine play of the Lord to show that he was indeed “Mara Prabhuhu”.

There was a follower  of Poonthanam who would string garlands to  Lord Guruvayurappan. She would offer the garland to the Lord every evening.

One day she was running a little late as she had some chores to complete. By the time she reached the temple,  the Dolotsavam  was  over  and the temple was closed.

There was no one else in the temple and she saw Poonthanam, who was the last person to come out of the temple. She offered her obeisances  to Poonthanam and  expressed her  sadness  that she was not able to get the garland Lord  on time

Poonthanam took her near a tree before the temple  and asked to offer the same .This  tree called “Manjulal”  is housed outside Lord  Guruvayurappan temple.

One would first have the darshan of the  holy tree before entering the temple.

Since the Lord was “Mara Prabhuhu” who is the Lord of trees [Mara], Poonthanam requested the girl to offer the garland to this  tree. She implicitly obeyed Poonthanam and offered the garland to Manjulal.

 The next morning, when the priest  opened the temple to wake up the Lord, they saw the same garland around the Lord’s neck. Such was the Lord’s compassion on that little girl who verbatim obeyed  a devotees words.

Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana  Narayana

Adiyen Ramanuja dasan

Pics : Courtesy Google pics and social media