Sanjay Rath

DOLA YATRA

This is Celebrated from the tenth day of the bright fortnight of Falguna up to the full moon day. The representative deities Dologobinda, Bhudevi and Sreedevi are taken in a procession to Dolabedi located outside the outer compound wall of the main Temple and special rites are performed.

CHANDAN YATRA

This Takes place in the month of Vaisaksha and continues for long 42 days. But, generally speaking it is a Festival of first 21 days only. The first period of 21 days is known as “Bahar Chandan”or outer Chandan. During this period, the representative images of Rama,Krushna, Madanmohan,Sridevi and Bhudevi are taken in a procession to Narendra tank.The images of Siva from 5 Siva Temples known as “Pancha Pandavas” also accompany them to the Narendra tank, At Narendra tank the images play in well decorated boats and are worshipped. The second period of 21 days known as “Bhitar Chandana” is celebrated inside the Temple. The rites observed on this period are not popularly enjoyed.

SNANA YATRA

This Festival takes places in the month of Jestha. it is popularly known as the Deba Snana Purnima.This is the first occasion in the course of a year when the deities Jagannath, Balabhadra,Subhadra along with Sudarsan and Madanmohan are brought out from the Temple and taken in procession to Snana Bedi located in the North East corner of the outer compound.The deities are bathed there with 108 pitchers of water drawn from a well near the Northern Gate. Here,Jagannath and Balabhadra are dressed like Lord Ganesh of the Purans with the head of an elephant. Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra & Lord Jagannath in Snana Bedi Click to enlarge Three Ratha(Chariot) The Chariots The three Chariots of Balabhadra,Subhadra and Jagannath are constructed each year with Sal wood, customarily brought from the exprincely State of Dasapalla,by a specialist team of carpenters who have hereditary rights for this.Lorrd Jagannth’s Chariot is called nandighosa. it is forty-five feet square at the wheel level.It has sixteen wheels,each of seven feet diameter, and is decked with rred and yellow coverings of cloth. The Chariot of Lord Balabhadra,called the Taladhwaja,has fourteen wheels,each of seven feet diameter, and is covered with red and blue cloth.Its height is forty-four feet. The Chariot of Subhadra,known as darpadalan is forty-three feet high with twelve wheels, each of seven feet diameter. This Chariot is decked with the coverings of red and black cloth. Around each of the Chariots are nine Parsvadevatas, the guardian deities,and four horses. Each chariot has a Charioteer called Sarathi,Matali,Darruka and Arjuna are the three charioters attached respectively to the three Chariots of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra.

NAVAKALEVARA

As a man discarding worn out clothes takes other new ones,so also the embodied soul, casting off worn out bodies enters into others which are new.In the light of this truth of the Bhagavat Geeta, Navakalevar can be interpreted as a ceremony for entering into new bodies, when Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, Subhadra and Sudarshan cast off their old bodies and take new ones. It is called Navakalevar. The year which has two months of Ashadha is regarded auspicious for Navakalevar ceremony.It usually occurs in 8,11 or 19 years. The new bodies of the deities are made out of the newly cut Yeem trees. The previous navakalevars were held in 1733,1744, 1752, 1771, 1790, 1809, 1828, 1836, 1855, 1874, 1893, 1912, 1931, 1950, 1969, 1977 and 1996.

RATHA YATRA (Chariot Festival)

The most splendid of the innumerable festivals celebrated round the year in the holy city of Puri, the Ratha Yatra is the grand culmination of a series of celebrations spread over the summer and the monsoon months.

Akshaya Trutiya tithi marks the beginning of the construction of the Rathas (chariots) for the ceremonial journey and sojourn of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra at the Gundicha Temple for a week.

On the full-moon day of the month of Jyestha (May-June) in the Snana Yatra, the Bathing Festival, when the three deities move in colourful processions to a platform in the outer enclosure of the temple, the Snana Vedi, the bathing platform, where they bath with one hundred and eight pitchers of perfumed water drawn from a temple well once a year. After the ritual bath, the deities assume the special elephant form, recalling the legend of the Lord’s affection for a devotee, whom He proved that he was in fact another manifestation of Lord Ganesha.

At the end of the Snana Yatra day, the holy triad,supposedly afflicted with fever, do not return to their pedestal in the sanctum.they stay away from the public view for a period of fifteen days, called Anasara, after which they appear in their Navayauvana Vesha, literally a renewed youth, on the new moon day of the Month of Ashadha.During this fortnight the icons get a fresh coat of painting which gets washed out on the day of the Bathing Festival. During this period the deities eat only fruits other restricted diet and soft drinks.Cloth paintings. representing the deities called Anasara Pati, are displayed beyond the enclosures hiding the deities from the devotees to see and worship.

Finally comes the Ratha Yatra on the second day of the bright fortnight of the month of Ashadha, when the three deities come out of the temple in a specacular procession called Pahandi. The deities, which are colossal wooden statues, adorned with giant floral crowns, called Tahias, are literally pulled, pushed and dragged in rhythmic movement to the accompaniment of the beat of cymbals, drums and chanting of their names in chorus by devotees in frenzied ecstasy. After all the deities are seated in their respective chariots starts the Chhera Pamhara, the ritual of sweeping of the chariots with a golden broom by the Gajapati King of Puri,the foremost servant of God,the Adya sevaka of Lord Jagannath. The King comes from his palace on a richly decorated palanquin. Chhera Pamhara is a symbolic rite which proclaims that the King, like others, is but an humble servant of the real sovereign, Lord Jagannath.

The most exciting part of the Rath yatra is the pulling of chariots by thousands of people who lay their hands on the sturdy ropes and drag the massive structures along the Bada-Danda,the grand road. The chariot of Balabhadra moves first, followed by those of Subhadra and Jagannath. The chariots grind forward slowly until they reach the Gundicha temple and the three deities rest for a night at the entrance on their own chariots. They enter the Gundicha temple on the next day in the usual Pahandi style and stay there for seven days.

Godess Laxmi,who gets angry for being left out at the temple, proceeds to the Gundicha temple to meet her Lord, Jagannath , on the Hera Panchami day,the fifth day of the fortnight. After having a stealthy look at her Lord, she returns to the temple, damaging a part of Jagannath’s chariot in anger and disgust.

The deities, after the seven-day stay at Gundicha Temple, their garden house, commence their return journey. It is called Bahuda Yatra held on the tenth day of bright fortnight of Ashadha. The return of the chariots takes place in the same order as in the Rath Yatra. Balabhadra’s chariot moves first,followed by those of Subhadra and Jagannath. On his way back,Jagannath stops for a while at Ardhasani temple, popularly called Mausi Ma temple or the temple of Aunt. He accepts from the aunt His favourite rice cake,Poda Pitha. The three chariots pulled by thousands of devotees, reach back the Simhadwara in the late afternoon of the Bahuda day and the deities remain seated on their chariots. On the next day known as the Bada Ekadasi,the three deities, are attired in costumes of glittering gold and are worshipped by thousands of devotees. This form of the deities is known as the famous Suna Vesa. On the Dwadasi day, the three deities go back to their original place,the Ratna Simhasana, literally the jewelled platform, with the usual fanfare and the Pahandi style.Their arrival into the Sanctum sanctorum marks the end of the Ratha Yatra the grand festival of chariots.

The Chariots

The three Chariots of Balabhadra,Subhadra and Jagannath are constructed each year with Sal wood, customarily brought from the exprincely State of Dasapalla,by a specialist team of carpenters who havehereditary rights for this.Lorrd Jagannth’s Chariot is called nandighosa. it is forty-five feet square at the wheel level.It has sixteen wheels,each of seven feet diameter,and is decked with rred and yellow coverings of cloth.

The Chariot of Lord Balabhadra,called the Taladhwaja, has fourteen wheels, each of seven feet diameter, and is covered with red and blue cloth. Its height is forty-four feet.

The Chariot of Subhadra,known as darpadalan is forty-three feet high with twelve wheels, each of seven feet diameter. This Chariot is decked with the coverings of red and black cloth.

Around each of the Chariots are nine Parsvadevatas, the guardian deities, and four horses. Each chariot has a Charioteer called Sarathi,Matali,Darruka and Arjuna are the three charioters attached
respectively to the three Chariots of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra.

(The timings are subject to change depending upon the rituals of the day as prescribed by the Vedic Astrologer (see ABAKASH)

1. “DWARPHITA & MANGAL ALATI ” AT 5 A.M. (Opening of the door and morning prayer)
The door opens early in the morning in the presence of the five specific sevayats after verification of the “seal” given by a particular sevayat in the last night. Soon after the opening of the door, sacred lamps is offered to the deities which is called “Mangal Alati”.

2. “MAILAM” AT 6 A.M.
“Mailam” is a word used in Shri Jagannath Temple,which means change or removal of dresses and flowers etc. At this time some specific sevaks change the clothes, flowers, Tulasi leaves of the deities worn on the previous night. After removal of colthes,the clothes known as “Tadap”and “Uttariya”are worn by the deities.

3. “ABAKASH” – 6 A.M. TO 6.30 A.M.
Purificatory rites like brushing of teeth and bath is known as “Abakash “. At this time Temple Jyotisha ( Astrologer ) reads out the tithi and other astrological details of the day and according to that, that very days rituals are performed.

4. ” MAILAM” 6.45 A.M.
At this time deities change their clothes ( Tadap & Uttariya ) and wear another set of clothes. A sevak known as “Akhanda Mekap ” keeps in the sanctum Akhanda Baitha i.e. one lamp which burns till ” Pahuda ” or the time of the retirement of the deities to bed.

5. “SAHANAMELA ” – 7A.M. TO 8 A.M.
Though this is not a part of the rituals,but about one hour is spent to facilitate pilgrims to go up to “Ratnavedi ” or inner sanctums to have a Darshan, without paying fees for it. On certain festive days, Sahanamela is held after ” Sandhya dhupa ” (Evening Puja or Sandhya Alati in the month of Kartik) and after Sakaldhupa ( in the month of Pausha ). Some times this darshan is not allowed for some special rituals of the deities.

6. ” BESHALAGI ” – 8 A.M.
After Sahanamela the deities are again dressed up which can be witnessed from a little distance i.e.” Bhitara Katha “. At this time, Deities are also adorned with gold and precious stones to suit diffeerent festive occasions.

7. ROSHA HOMA, SURYA PUJA, AND DWARAPAL PUJA- 8 A.M. to 8.30 A.M.
While some sevayats are busy with vesha lagi of the Deities, Pujapandas at that time perform ” Rosha Homa “( Fire Sacrifice ) at the kitchen and ” Surya puja ” at the surya temple near “Mukti Mandap “. Then the images of two gate keepers named Jaya and Vijaya on the entrance of the Jagamohan of the Temple are worshipped.

8. GOPALA BALLAVA PUJA – 9 A.M. (Breakfast of the God)
The prescribed time is 9 A.M. This is the time for breakfast of the deities. At this time sweet popcorn (Khei ), Khualadus, Coconuts sweets (Kora), Ripe banana, Curd, and chipped coconuts etc. are offered as bhogas. Puja is performed in a brief manner with pancha upachar only.

9. SAKALA DHUPA (MORNING FOOD OFFERING) 10 A.M.
At this time puja is performed by three Pujapandas with 16 Upachars or Sodasha Upachars. Three Pujapandas used to sit on Ratnasinhasana to worship three deities Shri Balabhadra,Subhadra, and Lord Jagannath. The Pujapanda who worships Lord Jagannath also worships Sri Devi, Bhudevi,and Sudarshan. The morning bhoga or food offered to the deities contains Rice, Kanika, Khechudi, Green leaves, Cakes etc.. The local names of the Bhog are Pitha Puli,Hansakeli, Kanti, Enduri ,Matha Puli, Kakatua Jhili, Bundia, Kadali Bhaja, Ada Pachedi (ginger tonic ) etc.. The cost of the dhoop Pujas and Ballavs are borne by the Temple Administration.Previously Raja-Superintendent of the temple born the cost of materials for preparation of Bhoga. So these Bhogas are also called “Raja Bhoga “or “Kotha Bhoga”.

10. MAILAM & BHOGA MANDAP : 11 A.M.
After Morning Dhupa or Puja the Deities changed their Clothes ” and again Puja takes places in “Bhoga Mandap “,a place behind the Garuda pillar of Jagamohan. Huge quantity of Bhogas such as Rice ,Dal,Curries,Saga and Cakes of different kinds etc.are offered to the Deities. Pujapandas worship this bhog with Pancha Upachars. The cost of Bhoga Mandap offerings are not borne by the state or Temple Administration. This bhoga is mainly prepared to meet the need of different Mathas ( Monasteries ) and for sale to the general public. According to the demand, Bhogamandap Puja is made twice or thrice a day i.e. after ” Madhyanha Dhoop” and “Sandhya Dhup ” also.

11. MADHYANHA DHUPA (Afternoon food offering ) 11A.M. to 1 P.M.
Like Sakal Dhupa, this puja is also performed with Sodasa Upachar in the afternoon.The Bhoga items are more in number than that of Morning Dhupa. One can go near to the ” Ratna Singhasan” for darshan by paying special Darshan fee @ Rs 25 /- after Madhynha Dhupa & Sakal Dhupa.

12. MADHYANHA PAHUDHA 1 P.M. to 1.30 P.M.
If rituals have been performed in time and if time permits, the Deities retire for the afternoon.

13. SANDHYA ALATI
In the evening again sacred lamps are offered to the deities after Madhyana Dhupa Mailam. On Ekadasi day,the deities change their clothes and wear another sets after “Alati” is over.

14. SANDHYA DHUPA – 7 P.M. to 8 P.M.
After “Sandhya Alati” again Bhogas are offered to the deities in the same manner like Sakala and Madhyan Dhupa but this time Bhoga amount is less in quantity and number. After Puja again lamp offering is made which is called as “Jaya Mangala Alati”.

15. MAILAM AND CHANDANA LAGI
After “Sandhya Dhoopa” deities changed their clothes and are annointed with Sandal paste mixed with champhor, keshar and Kasturi. One can witness this ritual by paying special Darsan fees.

16. BADASINGHAR VESHA
After Chandan lagi, deities are dressed with Baralagi Patta (silken robes on which some portions of Geeta Govinda of Jayadev are woven in to the texture of these robes) and flower ornaments.

17. BADASINGHARA BHOGA
This is the last bhoga of the day. Puja is offered With Pancha Upachar by the Puja Pandas with Pakhal(watered rice),Kadali bada,Kshiri ,Kanji etc.

18. KHATA SEJA LAGI AND PAHUDA 12.00
The bedsteads of the deities are arranged. The Deity of “Sayan Thakura” is carried from Bhandarghar to Ratnavedi or Ratnasinghashana and place the deity near Lord Jagannath. Then follows offering of green cocoanut, betels and camphor alati and then deities retire to their beds. After sealing the doors by the Sevayat (Talichha Mohapatra). Temple is closed and no visitors or outsiders are allowed to remain inside. This is in brief the daily rituals observed in the Temple. It is generally not possible to follow the time prescribed for each ritual on account of various practical difficulties. On the specific festive day,additional rituals are performed. As a result, charges in timings and alterations in the routine rituals are made.

DARSHAN
As indicated above during Sahanamela, the devotees can go up to the “Ratna Singhasana” and pray to Lords, free of cost. Besides the pilgrims can go up to “Ratna Singhasana” at certain times paying a nominal fee Rs.25/- ,which is known as “Parimanik Darshana”. At other times the pilgrims can have their darshan from a little distance that is in “Jagamohan” and “Vitarakatha”.

BHOGA
Every day 5 bhogas are offered to the Lords, these are “Gopala-Ballava”(Break fast), “Sakal Dhupa” “Madhyana Dhupa” “Sandhya Dhupa” and “Badasinghar Dhupa”. The details of these Dhupas are given above in the rituals.

We needed a website to organise the learning, or at least to have all those tiny bits of lessons and workshops at one place – that was the motive behind the birth of www.SoHamsa.IN which is different from www.SoHamsa.COM as the latter is for paid professional courses, announcements etc.

Quality of the courses are the same as those of paid professional courses. The prime difference being that the pro-courses are for very long durations and are very deep whereas these are normally taught over a weekend.
These workshops and free courses are topic focused whereas the pro-courses are focused on teaching a book from the jyotiṣa tradition like Bṛhat Parāśara Horā Śāstra being taught through the PJC (Parāśara Jyotiṣa Course) or the Jaimini Sutra being taught in the Jaimini Scholar program.

Saying as much, we will not take more of your time and announce that the following coursea are now fully online, and are FREE

Śakuna Śāstra. This is about omens and signs. It is a weekend workshop and sometime in the future we will teach a full pro-course on this subject.
Mantra Śāstra. This is another course covered in two weekends. Those interested in learning the Śāradā Tilakaṁ should take the pro-course ‘Mantra Foundation’ at www.mantrashastra.net

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Intro

Janata Dal is an Indian political party which was formed through the merger of Janata Party factions, the Lok Dal, Congress(S), and the Jan Morcha led by V. P. Singh on 11 October 1988 on the birth anniversary of Jayaprakash Narayan. The Janata Dal was formed on the 11 October 1988 at 1:18′ PM IST at Bangalore, India. the Rasi Chart is placed alongside. Capricorn rises (Lagna) showing its primary ideology centered around a poverty related theme of the upliftment of the poor and weaker sections of society. Rahu in the second house shows that its primary membership (family-2nd house) shall consist of people cutting across all religions and shall have a strong Minority/Muslim support.

The tenth house shows the leadership and the tenth lord Venus in the 8th house shows that the leaders will be people who have sacrificed considerably and suffered many hardships in life. The Combination of Venus with Ketu and Saturn in trines does indicate that some of them shall be very determined and idealistic persons. Since the expansive Jupiter is placed in the fifth house and also in the tenth house from Leo (Paka Lagna for the leaders), this party shall offer the maximum opportunity for its leaders to become Prime Ministers and it is a matter of fact that although the Janata Dal or its previous incarnation as Janata Party had the smallest tenures of governance, the largest number of Prime Ministers came from this party.

Morarji Desai came to power in 1979 in the elections following the emergency
he was upstaged by his deputy prime Minister Devi Lal who helped Chaudhary Charan Singh to gain power.
Later V.P.Singh also came to power
and he too was upstaged by Chandrasekhar who became the Prime Minister.
Finally H.D.Deve Gowda who was replaced by I.K.Gujral also became Prime Ministers.

Their stints were short of about a year each as promised by Lagna Lord Saturn. Thus, it is evident that whenever Janata Dal/party came to power, the first Prime Minister was always replaced by another. This is indicated by the 8th house placement of the 10th Lord showing Duryoga within the period of power itself. The second leader is indicated by Mars and the coming of Mars will indicate the loss of power by the Party itself in the elections that would follow as Mars is very inimical to Saturn and has Papargala on it. This is further confirmed by the 8th house placement of the Mars and Moon in the Navamsa Chart.

However the 8th house position does not auger well for their permanent association and since the A5 (Mantrapada) is also in Leo with Venus, these leadership maybe changed frequently. A slogan commonly used for the Janata Dal is “दल बदल बदल के दलदल कर दिया (dal badal badal ke dal dal kar diya)” i.e. by switching from one party to another and by forming so many subsidiary and affiliated parties, the entire political scenario of the JD has become very muddy (& dirty by implication).

Partner

The ninth house placement of the Sun, Moon and Mercury is the greatest fortune of the party showing that alliances (7th Lord Moon) will always be very favorable (conjoins 9th Lord) for acquiring political power (Mercury in exaltation), but at the cost of the alliance partner (i.e. the alliance partner shall lose popularity like the weak Moon in this chart). The placement of the Moon in the 8th house under eclipse by Ketu and Mars in the Navamsa threatens the political existence of its partners in the places where it shall come to power with such alliances.

Power

The coming of power or rise in politics is seen from the fifth house and Lagna. Lagna Lord Saturn is in Sagittarius owned by Jupiter in the fifth house. Thus Jupiter holds the key to political ascendancy. ever since its inception, the antardasa of Jupiter has come only once from June 1995 to October 1997 during which period it enjoyed political power (excluding its prior incarnation as the Janata party).

Party Collapse

This party has had several splits. Amongst the larger splinter groups include the Rashtriya Janata Dal (which ruled the state of Bihar), Samajwadi Party (ruling the state of Uttar Pradesh), Biju Janata Dal (governing Odisha), Janata Dal (Secular) (which ruled the state of Karnataka) and the Janata Dal (United), (currently ruling Bihar and whose leader George Fernandes was the former Defense Minister of India) and Samajwadi Janta Party (R) headed by Chandra Shekhar is the only faction having some national image. Several smaller splinter groups also exist, including Lok Janshakti Party and Janata Party. The Janata Dal finally collapsed with multiple splinter groups moving out particularly the formation of JD(U) on 30 October 2003… in Rahu dasha Ketu antardasha. It was a typical Rahu-Ketu thing with the head separating from the body.

Students of astrology may wonder as to why it did not rise again in Jupiter dasha after 2010. Thats because once apamrityu (premature death) has occured in Rahu-Ketu, then it shows the functioning of the Sudarshan Chakra of Vishnu and it will require more than just another dasha to bring this back to life. That hints at the power of Venus to give the mrityunjaya. Its strange that it chose a chakra symbol in green and thats exactly what cut its head off…

राधा (rādhā) means various things and people

prosperity and success and refers to the completion of karma related to birth thereby becoming eligible for mokṣa which marks the real success
it refers to the 21^st Nakṣatra Uttara Āsāḍha which houses 14/15 parts of the intercalary nakṣatra Abhijit which is the seat of Hari (Nārāyaṇa, Jagannāth). The two nakṣatra 20^th Pūrva Āsāḍha and 21^st Uttara Āsāḍha are parts of the dharma bhāva along with Mūla nakṣatra in Dhanus (Sagittarius) Rāśi. In the lunar month of Āsāḍha, Jagannāth leaves his abode at the temple and travels to the Guṇḍichā (Rādhā) temple in the chariot – the famous Ratha Yatra festival.
- The 19^th nakṣatra Mūla represents the pitṛs and shows root (mūla) dharma coming from father. If father is Hindu then child shall be Hindu at birth; if Christian then child shall also become Christian. This is mūla dharma.
- The 20^th nakṣatra represents the śreṇi-guru i.e. all the teachers and professors of the university where we train for professional life as well as the boss at work who teaches us to become proficient in our karma. This brings professional success.
- Finally the 21^st nakṣatra determines the dīkṣa guru who guides us in the spiritual path to mokṣa.
It also refers to the nakṣatra Viśākhā (containing 4 stars in the form of a curve marking the meeting of Libra and Scorpio). It is the power of purity and chastity of a lady.
of the foster-mother of Karṇa, the first son of Kunti who was not a Pāṇḍava, the king of Aṅga (modern Bihar). She was the wife of Adhiratha, who was Sūta or charioteer of king Śūra. Karṇa was also called Rādhā-suta.
Finally, a celebrated cowherdess or Gopi (beloved by Kṛṣṇa, and a principal personage in Jaya-deva’s poem Gita-Govinda who was worshipped as a goddess at the time of Parāśara and later again after the medieval period. She is occasionally regarded as an avatāra of Lakṣmī although the prime avatāra is Rukmiṇī. In order to ensure that the prayers are addressed to this Rādhā and none of the others above, Parāśara teaches the powerful dasākṣarī mantra गोपीजन वल्लभाय स्वाहा (gopījana vallabhāya svāhā) with the lupta bīja which is given only to the initiated for learning jyotiṣa. Similarly the name Rādhikā is used instead of just Rādhā as in the aṣṭākṣarī mantra राधिकायै श्रेयं नमः (rādhikāyai śreyaṁ namaḥ) has the power to remove the debility of Venus and every kind of skin affliction. Later add the name of Kṛṣṇa to this mantra and it becomes the 13 syllable mantra resembling the 13 petal lotus at the door of the Jagannāth garbha griha. ॐ क्लीं कृष्णाय राधिकायै श्रेयं नमः (om klīṁ kṛṣṇāya rādhikāyai śreyaṁ namaḥ)

The Veśa

Now we can understand why Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu laid so much importance to this Rādhā-Dāmodara Veśa of Lord Jagannāth and was instrumental in reinstalling this veśa as a part of the annual ritual of the Lord. During his expedition to Śrī Kṣetra (Jagannāth Puri) in Odisha in the 16^th Century, Śrī Caitanya had this powerful month long ceremony initiated. For an entire ‘Vaiṣṇava’ lunar month, starting from śukla ekādaśī (the 11^th day of the bright fortnight) of Aśvina māsa to the śukla daśamī (10^th day of the bright fortnight) of Kārtika māsa, the Deities are dressed in this Rādhā-Dāmodara veśa. Dāmodara refers to Bāla-Gopāla (baby Kṛṣṇa) with a rope tied around His waist to prevent the baby from straying (Kṛṣṇa childhood pastimes with Mother Yashoda). It was in this veśa that Kṛṣṇa gave mokṣa to the Arjuna trees as baby Kṛṣṇa was so strong that He pulled at the rope tying Him to the two trees and they fell down!

One mythological belief reveals that while Akrura the emissary of Kansa, while taking Kṛṣṇa and Balaram to Mathura, took a bath in River Yamuna, he saw this veśa of Jagannāth.

The deities wear three-crossed dress materials in this veśa. They are adorned with Golden hands, Crowns made of bamboo plates and velvet cloth.

Jyotiṣa Notes

Māsa is the period of a month and represents the entire living phase from birth to death. At the beginning of the month, the deities are like babies and then grow to adolescence and emerge as youth. Finally old age (vṛddha) and death like stage (mṛta) avasthā envelopes them. What amāvāsya is to the Moon and saṅkrānti is to the Sun, śukla ekādaśī is to Kṛṣṇa. On amāvāsya the Moon is naked and hides inside the trees; the Sun god is changing his clothes on saṅkrānti (implying being without clothes) while Kṛṣṇa is a baby on śukla ekādaśī. Those who worship the Kali fast on amāvāsya and sing the 22 syllable mantra; the brāhmaṇa seeking self-realisation fast on saṅkrānti and sing the 24 syllable gāyatrī mantra; the bhakta seeking union with Kṛṣṇa fast on ekādaśī and sing the 32 syllable mahā-mantra.

Author: Sanjay Rath

Festivals of Jagannath