Jagannath Module for children of age group 5 to 8 years.

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GOPAL’S FUN SCHOOL (GFS)
JAYA JAGANNATHA
INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR KRSNA CONSCIOUSNESS
FOUNDER ACARYA HIS DIVINE GRACE A.C. BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI PRABHUPADA

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INDEX
1. Invocation Prayers
2. Who is Lord Jagannath?
3. Why does the Lord appear in this extraordinary form?
4. The story of Gita Panda
5. The story of Bandhu Mohanty
6. Jagannath Maha Prasad
7. Lakshmi Devi and Sriya Chandalini
8. Prasadam prayers
This book is under the care of ___________________________________________________.

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SRI GURU PRANAMA
om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya
cakshur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah
I offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master, who has opened my eyes, which
were blinded by the darkness of ignorance, with the torchlight of knowledge.
PRAYERS TO SRILA PRABHUPADA
nama om vishnu-padaya krsna-presthaya bhu-tale
srimate bhaktivedanta- swamin iti namine
namas te sarasvate deve gaura-vani-pracarine
nirvisesa-sunyavadi- pascatya-desa-tarine
I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada, who is very dear to Lord Krishna, having taken shelter of His lotus feet. Our
respectful obeisances are unto you, O spiritual master, servant of Sarasvati Gosvami. You
are kindly preaching the message of Lord Caitanya and delivering the Western countries,
which are filled with impersonalism and voidism.

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SRI PANCA TATTVA PRANAMA
(Jaya) sri krsna caitanya
prabhu nityananda
sri advaita gadadhara
srivasadi gaura bhakti vrnda
I offer my obeisances unto the Supreme Lord, Shri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, along
with His associates, Lord Nityananda, Shri Advaita Acharya, Gadadhara, Shrivasa and all
the devotees of the Lord.
MAHAMANTRA
Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

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I. WHO IS LORD JAGANNATHA?
Jagannatha Swami is an unique Deity form of the Supreme Lord, Sri Krsna who has
especially appeared in Kali-yuga to deliver the most fallen souls. Merciful Lord
Jagannatha accepts worship from one and all.
The Deity of Lord Jagannatha appeared in Satya Yuga on Snana Purnima. The
Deities were installed 153,400,000 years ago. The Deities of Lord Jagannatha,
Baladeva and Subhadra Devi are carved out of wood.
Come let us read the story of the appearance of Lord Jagannatha!

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II. WHY DOES THE LORD APPEAR IN THIS EXTRAORDINARY FORM?
In Dwaraka, Sri Krsna resided simultaneously in the palaces of each and every one
of His 16,108 wives. They served Him with great loving attention and care and yet
Krsna would often cry out in His sleep “Radhe, Radhe”.
Puzzled, Krsna’s queens once asked Mother Rohini to explain their husband’s
strange behaviour. Mother Rohini replied “You cannot understand Krsna’s love for
the simple devotees of Vrindavan as you are all royal people living in such grand
palaces. I can try and describe some of His pastimes in Vrindavan to satisfy your
curiosity but I am afraid that if Krsna and Balaram happen to pass by and hear my
narration then they will not stay in Dwaraka for a moment more and will want to
go back to Vrindavan”.
After collecting all the queens in a big hall, Mother Rohini suggested “Let
Subhadra Devi stand guard at the door to prevent Krsna and Balaram from
entering and if They come, She will warn me and I will stop talking”.
So Subhadra Devi stood at the door and Mother Rohini began her narration.
While standing by the door, Subhadra Devi became so absorbed in hearing the
pastimes of Krsna in Vrindavan that she forgot herself and became stunned. Her
hands and legs shrunk into her body and her eyes became very large.
Meanwhile Krsna and Balaram came there and saw Subhadra Devi’s extraordinary
form and so They also stood by the door and listened to Mother Rohini’s
narration. Within moments They also became stunned in ecstasy and the same
transcendental systems manifested in Them. Their hands and legs withdrew into
Their divine bodies.
At this time the great sage, Narada Muni came there and was overjoyed to see
Their Lordships beautiful forms which are known as Mahabhava Prakasha.
Narada then prayed to Their Lordships that this extraordinarily beautiful forms of
Theirs, be manifest on earth and devotees be able to offer worship to Them in this
form.

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Questions and answers:
(1) Who was the Supreme Lord residing with at Dwarka?
(2) Why were the queens not able to understand Krsna’s love for the simple
devotees of Vrindavan?
(3)Why was Subhadra Devi made to stand guard at the door?
(4) What was the transformation in Their divine bodies?
(5) What are the Lordships beautiful forms known as?

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III. Gita Panda
Long, long ago there was a panda in Puri named Arjun Mishra. Every day he used
to read the whole Bhagavad-gita. Because he spent a lot of his time studying the
Gita, and due to his unflinching faith, the local people called him Gita Panda. He
was a great devotee of Lord Jagannath, a very surrendered soul. He depended
upon his Lord for everything. Whatever happened he accepted as the desire of the
Lord. Nothing could affect Gita Panda. He was a very poor person, and lived by
begging. Once there was heavy rain for about a week in Puri, and there was no
scope for Gita Panda to go out begging. Whatever little stock he had, he finished
very quickly. He and his family were forced to fast, yet Gita Panda was not
disturbed. He spent his days happily reciting the Gita. He was happy that he could
not go out, and felt it was a good opportunity for him because he had more time
to read the Gita.
His wife became very angry with him. She chastised him. "Unless you go out and
beg, how do you think your family will survive? We have three children. They will
all die if you do not go out and get something for them!" Gita Panda was
undisturbed. He showed her a verse from Bhagavad gita:

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ananyas cintayanto mam
yejanah paryupasate
tesam nityabhiyuktanam
yoga-ksemam vahamy aham
"But those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My
transcendental form—to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they
have."
She became even angrier by her husband’s behavior. She waited for days, but still
her husband brought nothing. He just kept telling her, "If we simply depend upon
the Lord, He said He will take care of everything." The wife wondered how long
she could wait. The children were very hungry due to want of food. She was very
angry. Taking her husband’s Bhagavad-gita, she opened it at the verse he quoted
and scratched three lines through the verse. Afterwards, frustrated and hungry,
she and her children went to sleep. Sometime later, Gita Panda also took rest.
Soon after, Gita Pandas wife heard a knock at the door. She rose from her bed and
opened the door. There stood two very beautiful boys, and they had brought with
them so many ingredients for preparing food. The brahmini was very surprised to

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see these two very beautiful boys. One of them was dark and the other had skin
the color of milk. The dark boy told the brahmini, “Please take these foodstuffs
which have been sent by a friend of Gita Panda. Please cook and then eat to your
hearts content." The brahmini was very pleased to see these very beautiful boys,
and when she heard the boy’s voice, her heart filled with joy. She felt very
affectionate towards them. She requested them to kindly wait until she prepared
the food and take prasada with them. But the boy replied, "Yes, we desire greatly
to take prasada with you and your good husband, but my tongue has been cut,
and I cannot eat anything." After this, the boys took their leave.
Gita Pandas wife placed all the ingredients in the store room and went to call her
husband to tell him of their good fortune. When Gita Panda came and saw that the
entire storehouse was filled with varieties of ingredients, he asked his wife, "Did
you feed these boys? I hope you were able to return their kindness and give them
some prasada" His wife replied, "I asked them to wait and eat something, but the
dark boy said that someone had cut his tongue in three places and he was unable
to eat." When Gita Panda heard this, he immediately understood that the boy was
the Lord Himself. Because his wife had scratched the verse in the Gita three times,
the words, which emanated from the lotus mouth of the Lord, reflected on His
tongue. Gita Panda s wife realized that the Lord, to prove His promise that He

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maintains His devotees, had brought bhoga to His dear devotee. Immediately Gita
Panda and his wife prepared to go to Jagannaths temple to beg forgiveness and
thank Him for His kindness. When they approached the altar, they saw that
Jagannath had three spots on His lips.

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Questions and answers:
(1) Why was Arjun Misra known as Gita Panda ?
(2)Why was his family hungry for a week?
(3)What did his wife do to his Bhagavad Gita?
(4)Who brought ingredients for the food to the house of Gita Panda?
(5) Why were their three spots on Lord Jagannatha’s lips?

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IV. Bandhu Mohanty
There was a person named Bandhu Mohanty in the city of Jajpur in Orissa. He
had two daughters and one son. His wife was very obedient. He was very poor
and lived by begging alms. He had no reserve funds, whatever he collected in
one day he spent in one day with nothing left over. Bandhu Mohanty was a
great devotee of Lord Hari. He used to spend his days chanting the holy name
of the Lord. He was merciful to all living entities, was very truthful, and was
very fond of serving brahmanas. He was indifferent to his family life, knowing
that everything is temporary except die holy name of the Lord. In this way, he
spent his days happily.
Once there was drought in his area, and people were dying due to want of
food. Bandhu Mohanty went to some villages to beg alms, but the people had
no food even for themselves—how could they give alms to Bandhu Mohanty?
He returned to his house without any food, all the while meditating on the
Lord. His wife told him that the children were very hungry. They could not
tolerate their hunger pangs any longer. She asked, "Don't you have some
relative who can help us during this difficult time? Let us leave this place and
go to some other place where your relatives are staying." Bandhu Mohanty

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replied, "I have no relatives to help me, but I do have a friend. But He lives far
from here. He is the best among all the people. There is no one equal to him.
He lives in Sri Kshetra Pun dham. If somehow or other we can manage to reach
him, our problems will be solved." His wife was very happy to hear this. She
said, "Then let us go there immediately. I will carry one child. You will carry the
other. Let us go there now without any delay. Otherwise all of us will die."
Bandhu Mohanty was very happy to hear this from his wife. He thought it
would be very nice to go to Sri Kshetra and take darshan of Lord Jagannath,
Baladeva and Subhadra.
They started their journey to Sri Kshetra, arriving four days later. They
approached the Jagannath temple at the Lion Gate. Thousands of people were
visiting the temple, and security was very tight. Many guards were there with
sticks in their hands. As it was not possible for them to enter the temple, they
took darshan of Patita-pavana, the deity of Lord at the entrance of the temples
eastern gate. Whoever is not allowed to enter the temple can take darshan of
this deity. Then Bandhu Mohanty went towards the southern gate near Peja
Nala, where all the starch from the cooked rice from Jagannaths kitchen
gathers. The cows drink this liquid known as peja. Bandhu Mohanty was very
tired. He sat down there near the south gate. His wife said, "Why are you sitting

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here? It is getting late. Now it is already evening time. Let us go to your friends
house to get refreshed and eat something. We all are very tired and hungry.
Where is your friends house?" At this time all the children also started to cry,
saying, "We are very hungry. We cannot tolerate our hunger any more. If you do
not feed us, we will die very soon."
Bandhu Mohanty said to them, "Today there are many guests at my friends
house. The gate-keepers are allowing only selected guests inside. If anyone
tries to enter by force, they'll be beaten. Let us sleep here tonight. We can
drink some starch from Jagannaths kitchen and spend the night here. Early in
the morning we will go to meet with my friend and ask him to give us shelter
and food. My friend is very merciful." His wife agreed to die proposal. They
arranged a broken clay pot, and all of them drank the rice-starch water, and
got a litde relief from their hunger. All the members of the family were very
tired and soon fell asleep. Bandhu Mohanty started to offer his prayers to Lord
Jagannath: "O Lord of the universe. You are maintaining everyone in your
creation. Am I out of your creation? We are dying here due to want of food.
Please bless us. Otherwise we loose our lives. Please consider our case." While
he was praying to the Lord in this way, he fell asleep.

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In the meantime the Lord Jagannaths pujari completed the evening offering to
the Lord. After finishing the puja, he locked the temple door, and with the key
in hand, headed towards his home. During the night, Lord Jagannath became
very worried that His devotee was sleeping without having eaten anything. He
could not sleep. "My friend has come from so far. How can I sleep peacefully
without feeding him? He has come here thinking I am his only friend, to seek
My help at this time." Then the Lord of the universe entered into the storeroom
and took one golden plate in His hand. He collected many varieties of
foodstuffs like cakes, sweet rice, vegetable rice, all kinds of dry sweet prasada.
Then He came to south gate of the temple. The Lord called, "Oh my dear
Bandhu, please come here." Bandhu Mohanty heard someone calling his name.
He thought, "Maybe they are calling someone else. There must be so many
people here with this name. No one knows me here, so who could be calling
my name?" Thinking like this, he did not respond. Then the Lord called again,
"Oh, Bandhu Mohanty from Jajpur, please listen. You are staying near Peja Nala
along with your family. Please come here. I have brought food for you."
Hearing this, Bandhu went and saw an old brahmana ready to hand him a plate
filled with so many varieties of foodstuffs. The Lord, in the form of this old
brahmana, told Bandhu, "Please accept this food and feed your family
members. Tomorrow morning I will arrange everything for you." Saying this,

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the Lord disappeared from there. Bandhu Mohanty took prasada very happily.
He woke up all the family members, and they all honored prasada very happily,
then once again slept, content with full bellies. After cleaning the plate,
Bandhu Mohanty went to the south gate to return the plate. He pushed the
door, expecting that the brahmana would be there and he could return the
plate to him. But to his surprise the brahmana was not there. Bandhu went
back to his sleeping place and wrapping the plate in his cloth, decided he
would return it in the morning.
Early the next morning, Lord Jagannath’s pujaris opened the temple gate.
Everybody was busy with their individual services. When they opened the store
room they discovered the golden plate of Lord Jagannath was missing. The
plate had been stolen! The pujaris reported the theft to temple management,
and the police arrested all the pujaris and beat them, thinking that it could
only have been a pujari who had stolen the plate from inside the store room. It
happened that by chance some people saw one person along with his family
sleeping near the south gate of the temple. They could see the golden plate
wrapped in his cloth. The plate was dazzling in the sunshine. Immediately
several people caught hold of Bandhu Mohanty. They bound him with rope,
beat him severely, and took away the golden plate. Bandhu Mohanty and his

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wife both explained how one brahmana gave them this plate filled with
prasada in the middle of the night. After eating he went to return the plate to
the brahmana but could not find him, and that was how the plate ended up
with in his cloth. Bandhu Mohanty and his wife appealed to the police: "We are
not at fault. Why are you all beating us without any fault?" But nobody cared for
what they said. He was arrested and put in prison. Bandhu Mohanty stayed in
the prison house. He fixed his mind on Lord Jagannath and started to offer
prayers: "Dear Lord Jagannath, I am the greatest sinful person in this universe.
You are an ocean of mercy. There is no one as sinful as me, and there is no
one like You, the great deliver of the fallen souls. Whatever You wish to do with
me, please do it. I have no other shelter than You." Thinking like this he
meditated upon the lotus feet of the Lord.
Later that evening all the temple devotees completed their services to the Lord
and went back to their respective houses. That Lord, who is all pervading and
always worried for His devotees, could not tolerate the suffering of His
devotee. He immediately climbed on the back of Garuda and went to the palace
of the King. At that time the King was sleeping. The Lord appeared to the King
in his sleep and told him, "Oh King, please listen: when guests come to your
house, do you let them stay without feeding them and caring for them? Is there

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anyone in your palace who stays without eating? My friend had come all the
way from Jajpur along with his whole family with so much faith in Me. I
provided him food. Did I spend your fathers property? I served My friend
prasada on My gold plate. What is the problem for you? Your people caught
him along with his whole family, and they were beaten severely. They bound
them hand and foot and threw them in the prison house. Now my friend s
whole family is suffering so much. I order you to go immediately to Puri to
release them from jail and wash their lotus feet with the greatest humility. Give
them the best cloth and ornaments. Place a turban on my friends head in order
to give him topmost respect. My friend deserves the same service from you as
you give to Me. You will provide him and his family with the best food and
accommodation for their whole life. If you do not follow My order, your whole
family will be destroyed." After saying this, Lord Jagannath woke the King, and
then left the palace.
The King immediately called all his ministers and explained everything to
them. He personally went to the prison house to release Bandhu Mohanty, and
embraced him with affection. The King said, "My life has become successful
simply by taking your darshan. Now I am blessed. Please forgive me for all the
offenses committed by my people." After saying this, the King performed

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abhishek to Bandhu Mohanty with holy water, gave him opulent cloth for
wearing, and placed a turban on his head with great respect. He arranged for
the. maintenance of Bandhu Mohanty’s whole family for the rest of their lives.
The King respected them as if they were his own relatives. He arranged a house
for them near the south gate of the temple. Bandhu Mohanty was happy to stay
next to his friend Lord Jagannath. He happily served Lord Jagannath along with
his whole family for the rest of their lives.
This is an example of the bhakta-vatsalya mood of Lord Jagannath. Whoever
serves Him with great faith, He reciprocates with him in this way. He is very
dear to His faithful devotees. Whoever lacks faith, for him Lord Jagannath is
very far away. Whoever hears this pastime of Bandhu Mohanty will be free from
the reaction of all sinful activities. He will achieve success in all his attempts
and will never see Yama-loka. This is the verdict of all the Vedic scriptures.

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Questions and answers:
(1) How did Bandhu Mohanty spend his days?
(2)Why did Bandhu Mohanty take his family to Sri Kshetra Dham?
(3)What prayers did Bandhu Mohanty offer to Lord Jagannath?
(4)Why did the Lord go to the palace of the king when he was sleeping?
(5)What is the benefit of hearing the pastime of Bandhu Mohanty?

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V. JAGANNATHA MAHA PRASAD
Narada Muni once went to Vaikuntha and served Mother Laxmi very attentively. Sri Laxmi was very
pleased and requested Narada Muni to ask for any boon. Narada Muni replied, "My dear Mother
Laxmi, you must promise that whatever I ask for, you will grant." Laxmi Devi wowed that she
would gladly fulfill his desire. The great saint revealed his wish: Narada Muni requested Laxmi Devi
to give him the maha-prasada remnants of Lord Narayana.
Suddenly Laxmi Devi's mood changed and her face became clenched with worry. "Please ask me
for anything else except for the Lord's prasada," she begged. "A few days ago the Lord instructed
me not to give His prasada to anyone. You must understand that I cannot disobey my husband's
order. My dear son, 1 cannot give you prasada" Narada was very adamant and reminded Devi of
her promise. "You are the dear wife of Lord Narayana," Narada Muni said. "You must grant me this
boon. Somehow or another you must give me the Lord's maha-prasada" Laxmi was now in great
trouble. What to do? She told Narada Muni to wait and that she would look into what could be
done to satisfy his desire. At noon Laxmi Devi lovingly served lunch to her husband, Lord
Narayana. Even though Devi performed her duties with attention and expertise, still the Lord
marked that his wife was very unhappy. Her face had become black and morose. Lord Narayana
gently asked her the reason for her distress. Taking shelter at the Lords lotus feet, Laxmiji
explained her predicament. Lord Narayana mercifully comforted His crying wife and said, "Just For
today I will cancel this restriction. You may take My plate of remnants and give it to Narada. But
you must deliver the prasada in such a way that I do not see. When I turn my face to the side you
may take the plate away as if I do not know." The goddess became joyful. Following her beloved
husbands instruction, she deftly removed His plate of remnants when He was not looking.
Laxmiji immediately took the maha-prasada plate and happily presented it to Narada Muni. Narada
Muni, dancing in ecstasy, eagerly honored the Lord's remnants. He relished Lord Narayana's
prasada, and did not cease for second from chanting the Lord's holy name and dancing in great

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bliss. As his ecstatic emotions increased, he could not control himself. Narada Muni with his vina in
tow started running all over the universe like a madman. Chanting and dancing without stopping,
he ran from planet to planet. Finally he reached Mount Kailash, the abode of Lord Shiva. Lord
Shiva was surprised to see Narada Muni chanting and dancing in such a state of ecstasy. Narada
Muni, swimming in the waves Vishnu-bhakti, did not notice Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva pacified Narada
Muni. "Narada, I know you are always in ecstasy because you constantly chant the name of Lord
Narayana. But I have never seen you in such a condition! What happened to you?" Then Narada
Muni cooled down and explained everything. "I got so much pleasure and ecstasy after honoring
the Lords maha-prasada that I can't stop dancing and chanting," Narada breathlessly exclaimed.
Lord Shiva, folding his palms replied, "Oh Narada! You are so fortunate that you have tasted the
mahaprasada of Lord Narayana." Lord Shiva smiled hopefully. "Dear Narada, have you brought
any prasada for me?"
Narada felt very sorry for he had not brought any prasada to share with Lord Shiva. Putting his
head down, Narada stood with folded hands before Lord Shiva. Then he saw that a morsel of
prasada had stuck to his fingernail. Narada gasped, "Oh yes! Here is some prasada! Prasada
kanika matra. A morsel of prasada just for you."
Narada Muni carefully held up his hand for Lord Shiva's inspection. "Oh Shiva. You are so
fortunate. Please take this maha-prasada."Narada Muni put his finger into Shivaji's mouth. As soon
as that small morsel of maha-prasada touched the tongue of Mahadeva, he felt great ecstasy and
happiness, so much so that he could not remain quiet. Lord Shiva started to chant and dance. His
dancing increased as his ecstasy intensified. His dancing became so vigorous that he manifested
the Tandava, the dance indicating the time of annihilation. The whole universe started to shake.
Everyone became frightened, thinking "What happened? Why is this dance is taking place
untimely? It is not time for the annihilation."

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No one was brave enough to stop Lord Shiva from dancing the annihilation dance. The devas
begged Mother Parvati to pacify the lord, otherwise the whole universe would be destroyed.
Mother Parvati arrived on the scene and saw Lord Shiva dancing in uncontrollable ecstasy. Mother
Parvati humbly approached Lord Shiva, and when he came to his external senses, she inquired,
"My dear husband! What happened to you? What has caused you to dance in such ecstasy?" Lord
Shiva explained that he had received Lord Narayana's maha-prasada from Narada Muni. Parvati
Devi became astonished. "My dear husband, have you kept any maha-prasada for me?" Lord Shiva
could not answer. He had managed to get only one morsel of prasada from Narada. How could he
have saved any?
Parvati was angry that she did not get maha-prasada. "I am deprived of Lord Narayanas
prasada.''She was so furious that the fire of her anger started to burn the whole universe. From
the lower planets to the higher planets, everyone felt the burning heat. The sages and saints
understood that everything was going to be finished by the hot anger of Mother Parvati. No one
could pacify her.
Finally all of the demigods headed by Lord Brahma rushed to Vaikuntha to inform Lord Vishnu.
Hearing the situation, Lord Vishnu traveled to Kailash riding on the back of Garuda. As soon as
Parvati Devi saw Lord Narayana, she came forward to offer her obeisances. Lord Narayana blessed
his devotee and told her, "I will give you as much as maha-prasada you want. Please be pacified
and give up your anger. Otherwise, all of your children will be finished." But Mother Parvati
protested. "I will not be satisfied if You give your maha-prasada only to me. I request You to give
your maha-prasada to all of my children, to all of the living entities. I do not want to see any of my
children suffer like I am suffering now due to being deprived of your maha-prasada. You must
arrange something so that all living beings, including the dogs may honor Your maha-prasada"

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Lord Narayana smiled and said " Tathastu. Let it be so. My dear Parvati, to fulfill your desire I will
appear in Nila-chala-dham. My temple will be famous for distributing My prasada. Whoever takes
My prasada will be liberated. All of my prasada will be of¬fered to you first. Then only will the
remnants become maha-prasada. This maha-prasada will be distributed to everyone without
consideration. I will keep you next to Me. You will have your temple just behind Mine in the inner
courtyard. Lord Shiva, because he neglected to give you maha-prasada, will stay at a distance. He
will have his temple outside the courtyard."
The Lord appeared in Puri as Jagannath. Parvati Devi is there in the name of Bimala. All of
Jagannath’s prasada is offered first to Bimala Devi. Then only is it distributed as maha-prasada. In
Puri there is no distinction between low and high-caste for taking Jagannath maha-prasada.
Jagannath maha-prasada is so pure that sastra says that a brahmana can take maha-prasada form
the mouth of a dog. It can never be contaminated.
JAGANNATH MAHA PRASADAM KI JAI!

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Questions and answers:
(1) What was Narada Muni’s desire?
(2)Why was Lakshmi Devi in great trouble?
(3)Where did Narada Muni reach after he honoured the Lord’s
mahaprasadam?
(4)Why was Mother Parvati angry with Lord Shiva?
(5)Who is the lord’s prasada offered first to?

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VI. Laxmi Devi and Sriya Chandalini
In Orissa people perform special worship to Laxmi Devi during the month of Margasira.
Every Thursday during this month, ladies arrange elaborate puja to Laxmi Devi following
different rules and rituals. On this day, Mother Laxmi leaves the temple with the
permission of Jagannath to visit her devotees. Usually she visits anyone who is devoted to
her, and who performs their puja according to her rules and regulations.
One day Laxmi Devi, in the disguise of an old brahimni, went to visit different houses on
the auspicious Thursday. She found the ladies of one merchants house still sleeping, and
so the home had not been cleaned. Laxmi Devi met the elderly lady of the house and
explained to her how they should follow certain rules on this particular day to worship
Laxmi. But the old lady did not care for the instructions of Laxmi Devi. In response, Laxmi
Devi removed her opulence from that home, and the family became very poor. They had
to live by begging from house to house. Then Laxmi Devi went to a village where
chandalas lived. She went to Sriya Chandalinis house. Sriya Chandalini was observing the
vrata on that day for worshiping Laxmi Devi. She had woken up very early and cleaned
her entire house, decorating it nicely for the worship of Laxmi Devi. Seeing this, Laxmi
Devi was very pleased and blessed Sriya Chandaluni with, more opulence, thus fulfilling all
her desires. Laxmi Devi then returned to the temple. In the meantime, the Lords
Jagannath and Balabhadra had also gone out for a morning walk. On Their way back They
saw Laxmi Devi returning from one chandala's house. Upon seeing this, Baladeva became
very upset and spoke to Jagannathji sharply.
"Your wife Laxmi Devi has been visiting die home of a chandala. They are contaminated
people, and do not follow any rules. How can she enter our temple after visiting die home

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of a chandala? Our temple will be contaminated. You must give her up." Jagannath tried
to pacify Balaram, saying that Laxmi Devi should be excused this time and told not to do
this again. But Balaram was very adamant to enforce His judgment that she should not be
allowed in the temple. "If you allow Laxmi Devi in the temple, then You will have to give
Me up. I will stay out of the temple." Since Jagannath is very obedient to His elder
brother, He followed the order of Lord Balaram. He called for Laxmi Devi and informed her
that she was no longer allowed to enter the temple by the order of Balaram. Laxmi Devi
was very surprised to hear this kind of statement from Jagannath. At the time of marriage,
Jagannath had agreed to the father of Laxmi Devi that He will excuse ten offenses made
by His wife. Moreover, her visit was not offensive since it was agreed that on each
Thursday of the month of Margasira she can go out to visit the villages to bless her
devotees. That day was exempted for her. Still she was punished unjustly. This made
Laxmi Devi very angry. She cursed Jagannathji that for the next twelve years He would
not get enough food to satisfy Him, and that He would only be able to eat food cooked
and served by her. After cursing Lord Jagannath, Laxmi Devi left die temple, along with all
her assistants. As soon as she left the temple became bereft of all opulence. The
storehouse was empty.
The next morning, Jagannath and Balaram were waiting for breakfast, but nothing came.
It was getting later and later, but still nothing had been served. Balaram asked Jagannath,
"What is happening with our breakfast? Why is it so late?" Jagannath replied, "No
breakfast has been prepared because Laxmi Devi has left the temple, along with all her
associates, so there is no one to cook." Then Balaram and Jagannath entered the kitchen
to prepare some food. Due to their anger at the dismissal of their mistress from the
temple, Laxmi's associates had broken all the ovens in the kitchen. Jagannath and

29. 29
Balaram then entered the storeroom to gather some ingredients for cooking, but they
found the storeroom empty because Laxmi Devi had withdrawn all her opulence. By that
time both the brothers were very hungry. Being deprived of Laxmi Devi and suffering from
hunger, both of Them decided to go out for begging.
We should know that although the Lord possesses all opulence and is the maintainer of
everyone, He went out to beg like an ordinary beggar just to prove the greatness of His
devotee through this particular pastime. Thus Lords Jagannath and Balaram, in the
disguise of brahmanas, went to the city to beg from house to house. No one could
recognize Them. Being deprived of Laxmi, They both looked very inauspicious, and so no
one would give Them alms. No one treated them nicely, or even allowed Them on their
doorstep. In the meantime, by the order of Laxmi Devi, the sun god had increased the
heat of the sun. Both brothers had to walk on very hot sand with much difficulty. They
were feeling very thirsty, and were happy to come to a pond where They could quench
Their thirst. Suddenly, as soon as the brothers approached the pond, the water dried up.
Finally they approached a tree, thinking to eat some tender leaves. But as soon as They
approached the tree, immediately the leaves dried and shrivelled. Both the brothers were
extremely hungry. Usually They ate many times throughout the day, as requested long
ago by King Indradyumna. In fact, They ate so often that no sooner had They washed
Their hands after eating, that it was time to eat again. Both brothers had been following
this system and were habituated to eating constantly throughout the day. Yet now almost
a whole day had passed, and still They had eaten nothing.
Soon the brothers reached a temple where there had recently been prasada distribution.
Many people were returning to their homes with prasada. Jagannath and Balaram

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approached one of the ladies. Out of kindness she agreed to give Them some food. She
had some puffed rice that she had offered to the deities, and she was happy to share it
with the brothers. Just as she picked up the puffed rice to give to Jagannath and Balaram,
a strong wind blew by the instruction of Laxmi Devi, and all the puffed rice blew away.
Both the brothers again lost Their chance to get some food. Finally They asked some
people where they could go to get some food. Someone directed them to a village of
chandalas where one very charitable personality lived. Jagannath and Balaram went to
that house and asked for some food. The householder was happy to feed them, but
Balaram did not want to eat food cooked by a chandala. Rather, He wanted to cook the
food Himself and eat. He asked the householder to provide some raw food materials and
facilities for cooking. According to Balarama's request, all the facilities for cooking were
prepared. A new oven was made, and all the ingredients and clay pots to cook were
provided. Balaram told Jagannathji to prepare food and went to take bath. In the
meantime Jagannath tried to cook, but he could not even set fire to the wood, what to
speak of cooking a meal.
After some time Balaram came back after taking His bath, expecting to find a meal ready.
He had been thinking happily about sitting down to eat at last. Unfortunately on His arrival
He came to realize that Jagannath was not able to cook, as He could not set fire to the
wood. This made Balaram very upset. He chastised Jagannath for His incapability and
began to prepare the food Himself. But when Balaram tried to set fire to the wood, it
would not burn, but simply created a lot of smoke. The whole house filled with smoke,
making everyone's eyes burn. Tears rolled from their eyes and everyone was coughing.
Then Jagannath and Balaram requested the house owner to bring some cooked food. The
lady servants of the house served the brothers. As they ate, They agreed the food was

31. 31
very tasty—in fact, as tasty as it was in temple, when it was cooked by Laxmi Devi. At the
end of the meal, some nice cake was served. Usually in the Jagannath temple at the end
of the meal Laxmi Devi served special cake to both the brothers. Jagannath and Balaram
thought that Laxmi Devi must be residing in the house. The Lords were convinced that
Laxmi Devi herself cooked the tasty food. How else would someone know that They took
special cake at the end of Their meal? Balaram, being the elder brother of Jagannath,
could not speak to or face Laxmi Devi, since she is the wife of His younger brother. That is
the custom of Orissa. Balaram requested Jagannath to go to Laxmi Devi and beg
forgiveness from her and bring her to the temple by holding her hand. He told Jagannath
to tell Laxmi Devi that she will never be denied to leave the temple to visit her devotees,
and that she could go anywhere she liked as long as she always returned to the temple.
Being approached by Jagannath, Laxmi Devi was satisfied. She made Jagannath promise
that there would be no distinction between low-caste and high-caste for honoring
Jagannatli prasada. To this day, prasada in Jagannath temple is served to all, irrespective
of caste and creed. Brahmanas and chandalas can eat prasada together from one plate.

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Questions and answers:
(1) What did Lakshmi Devi find when she went to different houses on
Thursday?
(2)Why did Lakshmi Devi bless Sriya Chandalini?
(3)Why was Lord Balaram upset with Lakshmi Devi?
(4)Where did Lord Balaram and Lord Jagannath finally reach in Their search
for prasadam?
(5)What did Lakshmi Devi make Jagannath promise?

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PRASADAM PRAYERS
Before honouring the Prasadam we say the following prayer:
maha-prasade govinde
nama-brahmani vaisnave
svalpa-punya-vatam rajan
visvaso naiva jayate
For those who have amassed very few pious activities, their faith in maha-
prasad, in Sri Govinda, in the Holy Name and in the Vaishnavas is never born.
sarira avidya-jal, jodendriya tahe kal,
jive phele visaya-sagore
tar' madhye jihva ati, lobhamoy sudurmati,
ta ´ke jeta kathina samsare
O Lord, this material body is a place of ignorance, and the senses are a
network of paths leading to death. Somehow, we have fallen into this ocean of
material sense enjoyment, and of all the senses the tongue is most voracious
and uncontrollable. It is very difficult to conquer the tongue in this world.
krishna baro doyamoy, koribare jihva jay,
sva-prasad-anna dilo bhai
sei annamrita pao, radha-krishna-guna gao,
preme dako chaitanya-nitai
But You, dear Krishna, are very kind to us and have given us such nice
prasadam, just to control the tongue. Now we take this prasadam to our full
satisfaction and glorify Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Krishna, and in love call
for the help of Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda.