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Narasimha Chaturdashi

Narasimha Chaturdashi

by | May 9, 2025 | Festivals

Without a shadow of a doubt, the world will immerse in glorifying the transcendental entrance of Lord Narasimha into this cosmic manifestation to safeguard his true devotee Prahalad and establish the principle that the true devotee of a Lord never perishes. We will glorify the basic philosophical standards about the very auspicious day around the corner of the month, i.e., Narasimha Chaturdashi.
 
Lord Narasimha is non-different from the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Prahlada Maharaja had to endure a lot of pain and sufferings from his father, Hiranyakashipu, who was a demon and atheist in nature and had prejudices against his son. Hiranyakashipu always tried to teach Prahlada Maharaja about atheistic philosophy and he would not appreciate it when Prahlada Maharaja used to recite slokas and hymns from Vedic literature. Hiranyakashipu was against the supremacy of the Lord as he was too absorbed in his pride of gaining victory over the Earth.
 

Special Favor of Lord Narasimha

Lord provides special protection to his pure devotees in every circumstance. It is a matter of exchanges of love between the Lord and his pure devotees. The pure devotees of the Lord also possess a strong faith in the Lord in every circumstance. We can learn from the exemplary character of Prahalad Maharaja, who always possessed a strong faith in the arrangements of the Lord even when his father Hiranyakashipu tried to subject him to death innumerable times.
 
Lord Narasimha appeared as half lion and half man to kill Hiranyakashipu when he crossed all his boundaries of torturing Prahlada Maharaja. When Hiranyakashipu destroyed everything around him, he asked Prahlada Maharaja whether his Lord resided within this pillar.
 
He humbly replied that Lord Hari is omnipresent. Lord Narasimha appeared roaring from that pillar after Hiranyakashipu forcibly smashed his mace on that pillar. This context enshrines enlightening teaching that the Lord can do anything to keep the dignity of the words of a pure devotee. Thus, our prayers to the Lord should be analogous to the scriptural injunctions, not based on our selfish interests.
 

Lord Narasimha and Prahlada Maharaja’s Divine Relation

Even after killing the demon Hiranyakashipu, Lord Narasimha was very much turbulent. This made demigods anxious, and they were afraid even to come nearer to the Lord because he was enraged and was in his colossal form. Afterwards, all the demigods requested Prahlada Maharaja to pacify the Lord.
 
Then, Prahalad Maharaja fearlessly walked towards the Lord, chanting the holy name of the Lord and offered humble prayers unto the lotus feet of the Lord, which made the Lord peaceful and then Prahlada Maharaja sat on the lap of Lord Narasimha.
 
We can see this is the power of a pure devotee. That is what Lord wanted to depict to the whole universe. A pure devotee of the Lord can even control the Lord through his pure devotion.
 
So, we should always respect a pure devotee from the innermost recession of our hearts if we want to please Lord. Now on the appearance day of Lord Narasimha, if you make a pure devotee feel happy, then Lord becomes very much jubilant on you.
 

Who is the real protector?

It is a fact that except for Lord Narasimha, there is no real protector of the living entities of the universe. It may seem to our eyes, because of our present material condition, that a father is the protector of the family, the president is the protector of the nation, etc., but Lord Narasimha acts as a driving force in providing personal safety to every living entity of the universe because no one can live even for one second without the protection of the supreme master- Lord Narhari.
 

Ideal Standards to Follow on Narasimha Chaturdashi

On the auspicious day of Narasimha Chaturdashi, everyone should voluntarily accept penance to please the Lord. It is recommended to keep fast on the auspicious day of Narasimha Chaturdashi, chant more rounds of Maha-Mantra, and offer deep prayers unto the lotus feet of Lord Narasimha to bless us with divine strength so that we can stand still even in the most dangerous stage of our life.
 
By attaining the mercy of Lord Narasimha, one can even surpass the most difficult phase of his/her life. To attain the mercy of Lord Narasimha, first, one should try to acquire the mercy of a pure Vaishnava. We cannot directly approach the Lord. Therefore, our endeavours should always be analogous to pleasing a pure devotee of the Lord by our actions.

Conclusion

We should always be dependent upon the mercy of Lord Narasimha in every circumstance of our life, which will certainly increase our devotion towards the Lord.
 
By which we could feel that nobody in this material world can protect us from the real miseries of this cosmic manifestation.
 
History is filled with myriads of instances where Lord Narasimha personally came to protect his devotee, who remembered him during difficult times. It must be understood that all living entities of the universe are under the shelter of Lord Narasimha because he is the only the real protector of all beings.

Your Smallest act of Charity can make a difference and bring smiles to Needy Faces.

Snana Yatra Festival- Auspicious Appearance of Lord Jagannath

Snana Yatra Festival- Auspicious Appearance of Lord Jagannath

by | May 30, 2024 | Festivals

The Snana Yatra, also known as Dev Snana Purnima, is a sacred bathing festival of deities observed on the Purnima (full moon) day of the Hindu month of Jyeshtha. According to Skanda Purana, this auspicious event commemorates the appearance of Lord Jagannath and holds significant importance for Vaishnavas. There are innumerable pastimes of the Lord Jagannath. 

The Lord not only performs these transcendental pastimes with devotees for emotional exchanges but to uplift the fallen conditioned souls of the material world. Also, when we hear and understand these transcendental pastimes of the Lord, our sins which we have accumulated since many births, will be destroyed. After repeatedly hearing the transcendental pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, real love for the Lord also arises in our hearts.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who can manifest in various forms such as Narasimha, Matsya, Kurma, or even as the wooden deity Jagannath, provides a shelter for wandering souls like us. The primary purpose is to seek refuge and solace in the Lord’s divine presence. And through the medium of the Lord’s transcendental pastimes, it becomes possible, and after hearing such transcendental glories of the Lord, a living entity automatically gets dragged toward the Lord as a river gets attracted toward the ocean. According to Skanda Purana, Snana Yatra is the auspicious appearance day of Lord Jagannath. So, let’s first understand the analogy behind the appearance of Lord Jagannath.

Historical Significance of Snana Yatra

Once upon a time in Dwarka, Mother Rohini was telling the queens of the Lord about the pastimes of the Lord with Radharani and other Gopis in Vrindavana. Hearing the pastimes narrated by Mother Rohini, Lord Krishna, Baladeva, and Subhadra became so delighted, overwhelmed with an emotional touch, and surprised that their eyes became wide, mouths remained open, and other parts became small and inserted inside their body. In this manner, Lord Krishna became Jagannath. When Devarshi Narad took Darshan of this transcendental form, he requested Lord to provide an opportunity to the whole world to have the Darshan of this unique form. 

After a certain period, King Indradyumna fulfilled this desire of Devarshi Narad. Then, Lord, after coming in the dream of King Indradyumna, says- ‘Hey King, I tend to appear on the Purnima particular date of the Jyeshtha month. So, on that day after consecration, I performed my worship with a full heart. From then, King Indradyumna from that day inaugurated the Snana Yatra festival. 

In Jagannath Puri, many festivals are celebrated for Lord Jagannath, and the beginning of all these festivals originates from the Snana Yatra. On this day, Lord comes out of the temple. In Puri Anand Bazaar, famous for Prasad, near it, in a high place known as Snana Mandap, the Lord is bathed because it was the order of the Lord to bath him in a place where not only demigods, but the people of the earth would also be able to see him easily.

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Elephant Form of Lord Jagannath and Baladeva: Tracing the Scriptural Injunctions

On the very day of the Snana, Lord possesses an elephant form in the evening. The story behind this is as follows- Ganpati Bhatt, a most revered worshiper of Brahma, who, after reading all the scriptures, concluded that by taking Darshan of Parma Brahma, a living entity becomes liberated. In the scriptures, he read that Parma Brahma resides in Jagannath Puri. But from somewhere, it was settled in his mind that Parma Brahma possessed a proboscis. So, when he came to Jagannath Puri on Jyeshtha Purnima for Darshan of the Lord and saw that Lord Jagannath did not have a proboscis, then he inferred that he could not be a Parma Brahma.

Ganpati Bhatt further contemplated that if Jagannath had been a Parma Brahma, then how come people who take Darshan of the Lord are coming back? They must be liberated. Thinking about all this, he started going from there. Seeing this, Lord Jagannath felt sorrow, and he took the form of a Brahman and came to him. Lord, and made him understand that Jagannath is the only one whom he has come to meet. In the form of the Lord, Brahman instructed Ganpati Bhatt to go back and see. When he returned, in actuality, Lord Jagannath and Baladeva’s heads were that of the elephant and an elongated proboscis and teeth of the elephant. Then Ganpati Bhatt believed that Jagannath was the only Parma Brahma.

He further acknowledged that Jagannath is the Lord. From then, on the evening of every Snana Yatra, Gaja Vesha is performed. Lord Jagannath and Baladeva are decorated as an elephant, and Subhadra is adorned in the form of a lotus. For Gaudiya Vaishnavas, this is a special occasion because Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, after taking Sannyasa, spent most of his time on the Jagannath Puri. 

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also used to take pleasure in that Snana Yatra. As we discussed above, after Snan, Lord does not give Darshan for 15 days because he resides in a wooden made home called Anabasara, where Shivir caste people serve the Lord. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu himself is Krishna, depicting the mood of Radha Rani. Therefore, his name is also Krishna Virah Vidur. And Jagannath Ji is himself Krishna but depicts the mood of separation from Radha Rani. Therefore, one name of Lord Jagannath is also Radha Virah Vidur. Lord Jagannath chants Radha, and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu chants Krishna. See, how is the transcendental pastime of the Lord?

Then, they both meet in Jagannath Puri. But after the Snana Yatra, when Mahaprabhu fails to take the Darshan of Lord Jagannath, Mahaprabhu cannot bear this separation. Then, being worried and wandering in all directions, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu reaches Alarnath, where a deity of the four-handed Lord Vishnu possesses a conch shell, discus, club, and lotus. And the separation of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was so extreme that the two hands of Alarnath disappeared, and it became Shyamasundara. And the stone on which Chaitanya Mahaprabhu sat and offered obeisance melted from all four sides, and the stone is also situated as it is today there. Therefore, from then, the devotees of the Gaudiya sect reside only in Alarnath on the Anabasara and perform kirtans and bhajans there.

Conclusion

Therefore, along with the season of festivity, Snana Yatra brings with it a feeling of separation. Thus, it all delineates about the Snana Yatra festival of Lord Jagannath. The day when the Lord Jagannath appeared, and from his wooden Brahma form, mercifully manifested in Jagannath Puri to bestow his mercy upon the living entities of the world. In the temples of ISKCON, this festival of Snana Yatra is also celebrated with great joy and enthusiasm. Therefore, it is a humble request to all the devotees to visit their nearest ISKCON temples, take advantage of this special occasion, and obtain the divine mercy of Lord Jagannath on his appearance day.