RAMA-PADUKAS Ruled Ayodhya!

At Chitrakoot, Bharata beseeched Rama to return to Ayodhya and be king. Rama declined, but upon Bharata’s request he blessed a pair of padukas (wooden sandals) embellished with gold which Bharata kept on his head, carried it to Nandigram, built a parna kutir, a small hut of grass and twigs, and installed the padukas on the throne.

For fourteen years of Rama’s exile in the forest, Ayodhya, the most prosperous kingdom on earth which rivalled Indra’s Amaravati in grandeur, was ruled by Rama-Padukas, with Bharata as Rama’s humble servant devoutly executing Rama’s orders delivered through his padukas.[i]

Bharata was never king of Ayodhya, but he dutifully looked after the kingdom as a sacred trust assigned to him by Rama for people’s yoga-kshema,[ii] wellbeing and prosperity. Ramayana presents Rama-Padukas as a potent, unforgettable symbol of righteous, unostentatious rule. Bharata demonstrated that Ayodhya could indeed be ruled, not from its majestic palace and the golden throne, but from the humble parna kutir at Nandigram, a tiny village where he lived like a hermit,[iii] wearing bark, with matted hair, sleeping on the floor on a bed of kusha grass, and eating only fruits and roots when he was not fasting![iv]

Even Kubera envied Ayodhya’s wealth, yet Bharata abjured fine livery, royal cuisine, and all other luxuries, and lived indifferently like a bee in a Champaka garden which never sucks the Champaka flower despite its alluring sweet fragrance.

(Image Source: Wikicommons)

---

[i] ततस्तु भरतः श्रीमानभिषिच्यार्यपादुके || २-११५-२६

तदधीनस्तदा राज्यम् कारयामास सर्वदा |

Coronating the wooden sandals of his elder brother, the illustrious Bharata thereafter carried out his duties for the kingdom, always maintaining his subservience to them.

 

[ii] एतद् राज्यम् मम भ्रात्रा दत्तम् सम्न्यासवत् स्वयम् |

योग क्षेम वहे च इमे पादुके हेम भूषिते || २-११५-१४

My brother, Rama has given to me this kingdom as a trust. These sandals, embellished with gold will guide me to ensure prosperity and wellbeing of the people.

 

[iii] स वल्कलजटाधारी मुनिवेषधरः प्रभुः | २-११५-२३

(Bharata) assuming bark robes and matted locks like an ascetic ….

 

[iv] नंदिगावँ करि परन कुटीरा। कीन्ह निवासु धरम धुर धीरा।।

जटाजूट सिर मुनिपट धारी। महि खनि कुस साँथरी सँवारी।।

असन बसन बासन ब्रत नेमा। करत कठिन रिषिधरम सप्रेमा।।

भूषन बसन भोग सुख भूरी। मन तन बचन तजे तिन तूरी।। (Ramacharitmanas, 2.324)

 

Tell A Tale

 

TELL A TALE*

(3 min read)

Like many young men and women of his generation, Anand was keen on getting selected for the Civil Services. He had outstanding academic credentials and had already cleared two hurdles - the Preliminary and the Written Examinations. If he aced the Interview, he would bag his dream job. He fervently hoped that the interviewers would find him suitable. When he stepped into the interview chamber, he wasn’t exactly shaking like a reed, but didn’t feel very confident either. The six of them sat in a threatening semi-circle that looked like a hangman’s noose about to get at his neck. He mumbled a feeble ‘Good Morning’ while giving a sheepish look at the whole pack, but looking at nobody in particular.

The chairman was an old man with a formidable shiny pate and keen, piercing eyes.  He dug his eyes into the sheet containing the candidate’s bio-data. ‘Hmmm! Rather an interesting hobby? Collecting amusing anecdotes, eh!’ he growled, with a mischievous gleam in his eye.  ‘Why don’t you relate one? A short one, please,’ he ordered.   

In his college days, Anand had this funny habit of collecting ‘amusing anecdotes’, mostly clippings of box-items from the dailies he and his neighbours subscribed to.  He fondly hoped to someday relate these to friends, and perchance impress them. But these anecdotes didn’t seem to interest his friends, and almost never amused them. In spite of this unflattering feed-back, while filling the job application form, in a moment of recklessness Anand had indicated this as his hobby. The consequence was far from amusing.

For the interview, Anand had prepared meticulously. In fact, he had short-listed several major topics on which there could be questions, and for each topic he had written down several probable Q and A. In all, he had rehearsed more than one hundred Q and A. That should suffice for an interview of about thirty minutes, he had hoped.  But this unorthodox beginning of his all-important interview quite flummoxed Anand. He collected his wits, gathered courage and sputtered the following story:

Albert Einstein and Albert Schweitzer were contemporaries.  Both were German; and men of eminence. Well, both had varied citizenships actually. They were born German, but died non-German; Einstein as a US citizen and Schweitzer as French.  

Both had won the Nobel prize.  Einstein for Physics; Schweitzer for Peace.  Einstein once wrote to Schweitzer,

‘Dear Friend, both of us have won the Nobel Prize.  We share the same first name, too. Being celebrities, we get talked about quite often.  These are matters we can do nothing about. But there is much confusion because of these similarities.  Most people are at a loss to figure out which Albert is being talked about. I’m distressed to note that you are further queering the pitch by wearing long moustache and baggy trousers just as I do.  Being a gentleman, I hope you would do something about this. You may kindly consider giving up these insignificant sartorial features.’

Schweitzer sent in a prompt and polite reply, ‘Dear friend, I quite agree with you that we must do something to end this unfortunate confusion.  Being men of peace, let us settle this amicably. You keep the baggy trousers; I would keep the moustache!’

On completing the story, Anand hoped to get at least an appreciative nod from the Chief.  There was none. Deeply suspicious, he narrowed his eyes and snarled at Anand, ‘Where did you read that?’ Anand readily replied, ‘In a popular American magazine, Sir!’

He got the job.  But till this day Anand believes that the Chief had also read the anecdote where he had read it. In the Playboy!

***

(Image: Source: Wikicommons)

Chat with Albert Einstein

Recently, I chatted with Albert Einstein on character.ai, an AI tool for chatting with fictitious characters including famous persons living or dead.

I asked: Hi, Albert. I am not a student of science. Can you explain your Theory of Relativity to me in simple words? He did. I then asked: I understand that you were an average student at school and college. How did you become so famous? That’s true, he said, I was indeed an average student, but I was focussed on physics and pursued it with passion.

At last, I asked him about the anecdote on which I had written the ‘Tell A Tale’ story. I wished to fact-check if the anecdote was true.

Me: Hi, did you ever write a letter to Albert Schweitzer suggesting that he should shed his long moustache to avoid similarity with you?

Albert Einstein:

“Yes, for he was an inspirational figure in my life. I was humbled by his actions, which he had no need to do. With that being said, I suggested that if he were to keep his moustache, that it ought to be different than my own. Hence, I told him that he should trim his moustache so that it became smaller.

He responded very cordially and said, "You will forgive me if I keep my moustache its natural size." He was a very humorous man.”

I was much relieved. The anecdote is not entirely fictional!

***

 * The lead story in ‘Tell A Tale and Other Stories’ by the author.

***

Books by the Author

Short story collections:

Tell A Tale and Other Stories

Invisible Poet and Other Stories

The Mysterious Ladies and Other Stories

Fiction

Kathapur Tales

Essays

Pink Diamond and Other Essays

Self-Help

How To Be an Author in 7 Days: A Beginner’s Guide to Self- Publishing

Story books for children:

Cave of Joy: Anand Gufa

Two Tales, Three Tellers: A Fairytale & A Fable

Poetry

RIVER SONG and Other Poems

Songs of Soil: Selected Poems of an Unschooled Bard: Padma Shri Haladhar Nag

O Krishna, O Son! Yashoda’s Sublime Song of Sorrow

***  

Note: Print copies of these books, except Pink Diamond and Other Essays, are available at amazon.in, notionpress.com, and flipkart.com. Ebooks are available at Amazon Kindle.

***  

Dear Departed Friend!

Are you free tomorrow morning? Please have tea with me at 11.00 AM.

That was an invitation I could not resist. I went over to his place, and we had a little chit-chat over tea. Always a pleasure to spend time with him, a raconteur par excellence with a treasure-trove of delightful anecdotes of a bygone era.

Mr. Manohar Keshav had joined the IAS in 1953, before I was born. The senior-most colleague in Madhya Pradesh cadre, he comes immaculately dressed to all get-togethers hosted by our Association, and loves to make friends with the youngest officers. Recently, he and his spouse graciously hosted an enjoyable High Tea for the 2022 Batch officers at their home.

Will you do me a favour, please, he asked?

Sure, Sir. What is it?

Please translate a small poem for me. It is in Urdu.

Humbled, but also alarmed by his faith in an untested translator, I protested: But I don’t know Urdu!

Of course, you do. One who knows Hindi also knows Urdu, in a way. Let me read it for you.

He picked up a slim volume from the side-table, opened the flag-marked page, and read it out. A touching poem by Faiz Ahmad Faiz.

During his visit to Bhopal in 1982, Faiz stayed with us; and this is an anthology of selected Urdu poems, compiled and edited by Ali Sardar Jafri (1913 – 2000), himself an eminent Urdu poet. A gift from Sardar Jafri, and autographed by him, he said, and showed the autograph. Mr. Keshav has a rich collection of Urdu literature.

I got the gist of the poem. It is about grief, a sad song in memory of a dear, departed friend, I said, but I don’t know the meaning of several words, a few of which I haven’t even heard before. May I read the poem, please?

Do you read Arabic? The anthology was in Arabic script.

No, I don’t.

Which words are unfamiliar to you, he asked?

He read the poem once again, and paused whenever I wanted the meaning for a particular word.

May I attempt the translation right away while memory is fresh?

He gave me a sheet of blank paper, read the poem once again line by line, and I made a first draft. My handwriting is awful, don’t even try to read it, I said, and read it out for him. He suggested a few changes after which I copied it to a second sheet, the final draft.

Faiz’s original poem is placed below. No idea for which departed friend Faiz wrote this poignant elegy. His biographers might know.

नौहा - फ़ैज़ अहमद फ़ैज़

मुझ को शिकवा है मिरे भाई कि तुम जाते हुए

ले गए साथ मिरी उम्र-ए-गुज़िश्ता की किताब

इस में तो मेरी बहुत क़ीमती तस्वीरें थीं

इस में बचपन था मिरा और मिरा अहद-ए-शबाब

इस के बदले मुझे तुम दे गए जाते जाते

अपने ग़म का ये दमकता हुआ ख़ूँ-रंग गुलाब

क्या करूँ भाई ये एज़ाज़ में क्यूँ-कर पहनूँ

मुझ से ले लो मिरी सब चाक क़मीसों का हिसाब

आख़िरी बार है लो मान लो इक ये भी सवाल

आज तक तुम से मैं लौटा नहीं मायूस-ए-जवाब

आ के ले जाओ तुम अपना ये दमकता हुआ फूल

मुझ को लौटा दो मिरी उम्र-ए-गुज़िश्ता की किताब

***

Meaning of words unfamiliar to me:

उम्र-ए-गुज़िश्ता – past life  अहद-ए-शबाब – youth   ख़ूँ-रंग – colour of blood, red  

एज़ाज़ – marvel, miracle, honour, esteem, respect  चाक – torn, tattered   क़मीसों – shirts  

बार  – load, burden  मायूस-ए-जवाब – disappointing answer

Rekhta.org

The lyrics in Hindi are sourced from rekhta.org, an excellent portal for Urdu literature for the cognoscenti, and for a novice like me. A few years ago, struggling to make sense of Hafeez Jalandhari’s ‘abhi toh mein jawan hoon’, I texted my friend Anjuly a few times for meaning of unfamiliar Urdu words in the poem. She said, ever so helpful, unfailingly polite, and without any irritation: why don’t you look up the poem in rekhta.org.? Just click the word you do not know, and the meaning pops up readily. I checked, and was delighted.  Thanks, Anjuly, for telling me about Rekhta! If you love Urdu literature, you may find this portal very helpful.

Lament

(Translation of Faiz Ahmad Faiz’s ‘Nouha’ by this author)

I am aggrieved,

Dear Friend, Soul-mate, Brother,

For you departed

With my treasured Book of Life,

Filled with priceless memories,

Of childhood and youth;

Bidding adieu, you left for me,

Grief - a deep, raw, gaping wound,

This flaring blood-red rose,

A return gift;

Of what use is this marvel,

Treasure of lost love,

How can I bring myself to wear it on my lapel?

Much easier for me

To count all our torn and tattered shirts.

Let me burden you with this final query,

Never have I received from you

A disappointing, hurtful response;

Dear Friend, Soul-mate, Brother,

Take back your flaming flower,

Return my Book of Life,

Filled with precious pictures,

Of our shared joys and sorrows

Of childhood and youth.

***

After finishing the job, I asked: why do you need an English translation?

Saturday Club is hosting a condolence meeting for Late K. S. Dhillon, one of the Founder members of the club, a very dear friend, and my neighbour. I wish to read the English translation of Faiz’s poem in honour of my dear, departed friend. Many in the audience may not fully understand the Urdu nazm.

K.S.Dhillon

Mr. Kirpal Singh Dhillon (1929 – 2018), a distinguished IPS officer (MP:1953) served as Director General of Police, Madhya Pradesh, and Punjab. He has authored ‘Defenders of the Establishment: Ruler-supportive Police Forces of South Asia’ and ‘Time Present and Time Past: Memoirs of a Top Cop.’ After retirement, he also served as Vice-Chancellor of Bhopal University, and was later elected a fellow of the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla.

Kirpal Singh Dhillon (1929 – 2018)

Okay, I will type it on my laptop, and send you a printed copy, I said, and took leave. That was the first ever Urdu poem, and the only one that I have translated till date.

He read the poem with great feeling at the condolence meeting. A touching tribute to his friend. All of us were moved by a fond remembrance through this poignant elegy of love and loss, of memories sweet and sour, of joy and sorrow.

Manohar Keshav, now in his 96th year, is the senior-most member of IAS Association, Madhya Pradesh.

Faiz Ahmad Faiz

Faiz Ahmad Faiz (1911 – 1984) was one of the most celebrated Urdu writers of his time. After studying Arabic and English literature at college, he began his career as a lecturer in English, then joined the army, and thereafter journalism.

His nazms – ‘hum bhi dekhenge (sung beautifully by Iqbal Bano, You Tube),’ and ‘bol ki lab āzād haiñ tere, bol zabāñ ab tak terī hai’ are hugely popular anthems of protest.

Another Faiz poem मुझ से पहली सी मोहब्बत मिरी महबूब न माँग  ( soulful singing by Noor Jehan, available in You Tube) inspired a great Bollywood song. Here is the little anecdote about how that happened. Raj Khosla was a Faiz-fan, and upon Raj’s insistence, Mazrooh Sultanpuri sought and obtained Faiz’s consent to use a line from the above-mentioned song - तेरी आँखों के सिवा दुनिया में रक्खा क्या है – and wrote the lyrics for a timeless song in Chirag (1969).

Faiz Ahmad Faiz (1911 – 1984)

A Note on the Translation

What do you think of my translation? No need to tell, I kind of know. Why, what more did you expect from a non-Urdu, non-Hindi, non-English speaking desperado venturing into the very difficult task of translating Urdu poetry to English?

I have made a rudimentary translation based on my limited understanding, and Mr. Keshav’s patient explanation. Proficient Urdu readers may have a different appreciation of the poem, and others may find much better translations on the net.

***

Lord Jagannatha and Guru Nanak

Guru Nanak at Puri

After attaining enlightenment, Guru Nanak proceeded on his first udasi (long travel) to eastern India during which he visited Kamrup (Assam), Bengal, and Odisha. Guruji is believed to have walked 50000 miles to visit not only all over India but also Sinhaladvipa (Sri Lanka), Mecca-Medina, Afghanistan, and China. Some assert that he also visited Rome.

Like the holy men of previous eras – Mahavira Jain, Buddha, Adi Shankara, Ramanuja, and others; Nanak travelled far and wide to share with people his simple methods of realising the divine in human life.

Bhai Mardana, Guru Nanak’s disciple and closest associate, accompanied Guruji. After a long and tiring journey, they reached Puri on a summer evening. It was a full moon night.

Let us spend the night on the sea-shore under the sky, said the Guru.

But this is a cremation ground, said Mardana, pointing at the still smouldering piles at a distance. Why don’t we find some other place?

Are you afraid, Mardana? This is Swargadvara in Purushottam Kshetra, and Yama is prohibited from entering this place by order of Vishnu. Have you also forgotten that your name is Mar-Da-Na (one who will not succumb to untimely death)?

But I am hungry, and so you must be. Go and get Jagannatha prasad. That will be our meal for tonight. Tomorrow morning, we will go for darshan.

After sometime, Mardana returned empty-handed. The temple is far away, and no prasad was available around here, he said.

No problem. Maybe, Jagannatha wishes us to keep a fast tonight. Jaise prabhu ki marzi. Let us have a drink of water and sleep, said Nanak. He dug with his bare hands a small hole on the sands, and they drank to their fill the clean, sweet water that the little ‘well’ offered.

An hour or later, they were gently nudged awake. Here is prasad for you, said the courier, and placed before each of them a thali and a few katoris, and bhog in a few earthen pots.

But who are you, and how did you know that we are here, asked Mardana?

I am a sevak, you are our guest, and how could you sleep hungry at Sri Kshetra? said the sevak and hurried away.

Guru and chela relished the delicious, aromatic, and soul-satisfying prasad, after which they cleaned the utensils under the moonlight since it is inauspicious to keep jhootha vartan overnight.

Next morning, the temple store-keepers came looking for the golden utensils for serving meals to Jagannath which had been ‘stolen’ at night. They found all the utensils neatly stacked, and more sparkling and shining than ever before. One look at the meditating Guru with a halo around his head, and the chela singing soft, soulful bhajan; and they realised these were no thieves.

At this time, the king, Jagannatha’s first sevak, arrived with his entourage. Last night, Jagannatha had spoken to him in his dream, and had asked him to personally look after ‘my two devotees who have come from afar and are presently on the sea-shore.’ The king had come to ceremonially welcome the ‘special devotees’ and to take them to Sri Mandira for the morning darshan.

Dhanaasaree Mahalaa 1 Aarati

After witnessing the morning aarati and puja, Guru Nanak composed Dhanaasaree Mahalaa 1 Aarati (Ang 663, Adi Granth) which begins with -

ੴ सतिगुर प्रसादि ॥ (Ik-oamkkaari satigur prsaadi), and proceeds to sing the glory of the spectacular  celestial aarati offered by the sun, the moon, and the stars to the Supreme Being:

‘गगन मै थालु रवि चंदु दीपक बने तारिका मंडल जनक मोती ॥

सम्पूर्ण गगन रूपी थाल में सूर्य व चंद्रमा दीपक बने हुए हैं, तारों का समूह जैसे थाल में मोती जड़े हुए हों।’[i]

Rajni Sekhri Sibal in her book ‘The Guru - Guru Nanak’s Saakhis’ has beautifully translated this hymn, of which the first stanza is:

“Ikk Onkar – O luminous stars

I offer this ode to the one True One: 

The cosmic plate is thy prayer-platter

The radiant lamps are the sun and the moon –

Stars and planets are like offerings of pearls

And thy incense is the aroma of sandalwood

The winds become tender like a gentle breeze

And the Earth offers all the plants in the woods

Fragrant blooms flower and fall at your feet

A veneration exquisite, majestic and sweet…”[ii]

Bauli Math Sahib

Years later, Guru’s devotees constructed a proper well at the very spot where Nanak had dug his ‘well.’ In Odia, a 'well' is called 'bauli', and hence, it was fondly named Bauli Math, now known as Gurudwara Bauli Math Sahib, and a place of pilgrimage for Sikhs and others. It is not far from Adi Shankara’s Govardhan Math near Swargadvara, and can be easily located  on Google Earth or Google Map.

 Mangu Math, also associated with Guru Nanak, is near the Sri Mandira.

Janam Sakhi

Janam Sakhi is the life history of Guru Nanak, of which there are various versions by the compilers.  Guru Nanak’s visit to Puri, as well as Bauli Math and Mangu Math, are mentioned in the Janam Sakhi by Bhai Bala.

A detailed account of Guru Nanak’s visit to Puri, and the related janamsakhi are available at sikhiwiki.org[iii]

Panj Pyare

Puri has another connect with Sikhism. Bhai Himmat Singh of Puri offered his head to Guru Gobind Singh at Anandpur Sahib in 1699 AD, at the time of creation of Khalsa Panth as one of the Panj Piaras.

Jayadeva

Jayadeva, the composer of the famous Gita Govinda, and an earnest devotee of Krishna and Jagannatha, is one of the 15 Bhagats (Sant Kavis) whose hymns and songs are included in Adi Granth, also known as Guru Granth Sahib. Two of Jayadeva’s shlokas are in the Granth.

Koh-i-Noor: Mountain of Light

In 1838 when Maharaja Ranjit Singh was critically ill, he decided to gift Koh-i-Noor to Jagannatha of Puri, as suggested by his astrologer. Many Hindus believed that the Koh-i-Noor was in fact the Syamantak mani that Krishna wore, and hence it was fitting to return it to Jagannatha. However, Beliram, the royal custodian did not comply with the Maharaja’s wishes, and he and his family soon met a tragic death.

‘When the British learned of Ranjit Singh’s death in 1839, and his plan to give the diamond and other jewels to a sect of Hindu priests, the British press exploded in outrage. “The richest, the most costly gem in the known world, has been committed to the trust of a profane, idolatrous and mercenary priesthood,” wrote one anonymous editorial. Its author urged the British East India Company to do whatever they could to keep track of the Koh-i-Noor, so that it might ultimately be theirs.’[iv]

By the Treaty of Lahore, signed on 29 March 1849 between the East India Company and the Maharaj of Lahore Duleep Singh, then a child of 10, the Sikhs lost their kingdom. By Article III of the Treaty, the Maharaj ‘surrendered’ the Koh-i-Noor to the Queen of England!?

The British displayed the diamond at the Great Exhibition at London in 1851 as a symbol of their conquest of India, and later fitted it on the crown of their Queen. It was ‘the single most famous object of loot from India.’[v]

The British lost India in 1947. Maybe, the diamond is indeed cursed!

Nirakar brahma

For Guru Nanak, the Supreme Being is formless and attribute-less. He is represented by Ik Onkara, the primal sound, and that is why the Mool Mantra is repeated several times in the Adi Granth. In the ancient times, Vedic religion also contemplated the divine as formless, and the major deities that Hindus worship today became popular only during the later puranic period.

The Upanishads used OM, correctly pronounced as AUM, as a mystic monosyllable at the beginning of mantras, and the three sounds of which it consists – a, u, and m symbolised the union of the Hindu triad: a for Vishnu, u for Shiva, and m for Brahma.

Shunyavadi Bhakt Kavis of Odisha

Bhakti poets of Odisha concurrently composed devotional songs - prarthanas, jananas, and bhajans – for Lingaraj, Jagannatha, and the other puranic gods and for nirakar brahma. The notable shunyavadi bhakta kavis of Odisha; Achyutanada, Jashobanta, and Shishu Anant; were Nanak’s contemporary, and their bhajans sang of nirakara, nirguna brahma.

Jagannatha Culture

At Puri, as in the rest of Odisha, places of worship for tribal deities, temples, mosques, churches, and gurudwaras co-exist in peace and harmony. Since ancient times, Odisha has been home to practitioners of diverse faiths – the tribals, Buddhist, Jain, Shaiva, Shakta, Saurya, Ganapatya, Vaishnava, Tantric, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, and others. Not surprisingly, several faiths claim Jagannatha as their Supreme Being.

In Satya yuga, king Indrdyumna came from Avanti and constructed the first temple for Jagannatha at Puri. Ashoka, after the unprecedented bloodbath of the Kalinga war that turned Daya (compassion, ironically!) into a river of blood, converted to Buddhism and transformed from Chandashoka to Dharmashoka. King Kharavela promoted Jainism. Adi Shankara came and established the Govardhan Math, Puri. Ramanuja, Jayadeva, Chaitanya, Guru Nanak, Tulasidas, and other sants came to sip the amrit of Jagannatha’s grace, and further enriched the syncretic Jagannatha Culture which is best summarised by the following Rigveda mantra:

एकं सद् विप्रा बहुधा वदन्ति । ऋ. 1.164.46

TRUTH is ONE, though wise men call it by various names.

---

[i] https://www.dekho-ji.com/sggs-663

[ii] The full text of her translation is at link: https://youtu.be/ocxwnHKpraQ

[iii]https://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Guru_Nanak_at_Puri#:~:text=In%20the%20Janam%20Sakhi%20of,is%20mentioned%20in%20great%20detail

[iv] https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-story-koh-i-noor-diamondand-why-british-wont-give-it-back-180964660/

[v] Kohinoor: The Story of the World’s Most Infamous Diamond – William Dalrymple and Anita Anand.

 

 

Jagannatha and Rama

Both Jagannatha and Rama are revered gods for Hindus, but are they the same deity? This question has bothered many devotees including Gosvami Tulasidas, the Sant-Kavi who in the sixteenth century composed Ramacharitamanas, recited even today with deep devotion and love by the Hindi-speaking population.

Tulasidas once came on a pilgrimage to Sri Kshetra, Puri, and when he visited Sri Mandir, he was sorely disappointed not seeing any likeness of his dear Rama in the Daru vigraha of Jagannatha. Lord Rama, the avatar of Vishnu, was the Supreme Being for him. Rama had been so named because of his charming, captivating visage. Rama casts a magic spell, as it were, on his devotees. In Jagannatha, Tulasi could not see Rama’s strong arms stretching up to the thighs (ajanulambita); nor his fearsome bow and arrows (dhanurdhari Rama). Jagannatha had only two stumps in place of hands, so how could he hold anything at all? Rama’s beautiful eyes were lotus-shaped, kamalanayan; Jagannatha had two oversized pupils with no eyelids. No, the illiterate locals might believe Jagannatha to be the Supreme God, but he did not look like Vishnu or Rama, concluded Tulasidas.

Gosvami was an earnest devotee, and well-versed in the Vedas, Upanishads, and the puranas; yet he could not see through God’s maya and leela. Maybe, he momentarily forgot that the Vedas and the Upanishads had contemplated the Supreme Being as nirakara (formless) and nirguna (attribute-less) brahma. Only much later, the puranas had visualised the Supreme Godhood as one with four arms (Vishnu), and also with many arms, bellies, mouths, and eyes – aneka-bahudara-vaktra-netram[i] (Bhagavad-Gita: 11.16); the expansive and inclusive Hindu mind seeing no conflict or inconsistency in a Supreme Being who is simultaneously apanipada[ii], without hands and feet, which Jagannatha’s vigraha demonstrates, and a terrifying vishwaroopa with countless hands and legs.

After the darshan, as a sad and crest-fallen Tulasidas proceeded to the exit, a pilgrim rudely bumped into him nearly toppling him down, and immediately thereafter a monkey snatched his prasad, the half of the coconut he had offered to the deities.

Tulasi did not have a pleasant visit to Sri Mandira, and went to sleep a troubled and dissatisfied devotee. Rama appeared in his dream, and asked his devotee, ‘Did you have a good darshan at Sri Mandira?’ ‘O, Lord, why are you teasing me, don’t you already know?’ asked Tulasi. ‘O, dear bhakt, how could you NOT see me in Jagannatha? That’s why I had to send Vibhishana to give you a jolt of realisation, and Hanuman to snatch your prasad. Go there again tomorrow, and you will see better,’ said Rama and vanished.

The next day, Tulasidas went for his second darshan. After the darshan, as the overwhelmed Sant-Kavi made for the exit, tears of joy rolled down his cheeks, the pilgrim who had bumped into him the other day stood near the Simhadvara to bid him adieu with a pranam, and the monkey was grinning from ear to ear.

(Image Source: https://twitter.com/SJTA_Puri/)

Gosvami Tulasidas remembered that Rama had blessed Vibhishana with immortality and had instructed him to worship Jagannatha, the kuladevata of the Ikshvaku dynasty! (Shloka 30-Sarga-108, Uttara Kanda, Valmiki Ramayana, Gita Press).

It is believed that every day the first worship of Jagannatha is performed by Vibhishana, and his fresh flower offerings are found when the garbha griha is opened in the morning.

***

---

[i] BHAGAVAD-GITA: CHAPTER 11 VERSE 16

अनेकबाहूदरवक्त्रनेत्रं

पश्यामि त्वां सर्वतोऽनन्तरूपम् ।

नान्तं न मध्यं न पुनस्तवादिं

पश्यामि विश्वेश्वर विश्वरूप ॥ ११-१६॥

anekabāhūdaravaktranetraṃ

paśyāmi tvāṃ sarvato’nantarūpam

nāntaṃ na madhyaṃ na punastavādiṃ

paśyāmi viśveśvara viśvarūpa

 

I see Thee of boundless form on every side, with manifold arms, stomachs, mouths and eyes; neither the end, nor the middle, nor also the beginning do I see; O, Lord of the Universe, O, Cosmic-Form.

SWAMI CHINMAYANANDA

Source: https://shlokam.org/bhagavad-gita/11-16/

[ii] Mundaka Upanishad

यत्तदद्रेश्यमग्राह्यमगोत्रमवर्ण-

मचक्षुःश्रोत्रं तदपाणिपादम् ।

नित्यं विभुं सर्वगतं सुसूक्ष्मं

तदव्ययं यद्भूतयोनिं परिपश्यन्ति धीराः ॥ ६॥

yattadadreśyamagrāhyamagotramavarṇa-

macakṣuḥśrotraṃ tadapāṇipādam .

nityaṃ vibhuṃ sarvagataṃ susūkṣmaṃ

tadavyayaṃ yadbhūtayoniṃ paripaśyanti dhīrāḥ .. 6..

By means of the Higher Knowledge the wise behold everywhere Brahman, which otherwise cannot be seen or seized, which has no root or attributes, no eyes or ears, no hands or feet; which is eternal and omnipresent, all-pervading and extremely subtle; which is imperishable and the source of all beings.

Source: https://shlokam.org/texts/mundaka-1-1-6/