(7/9) Lord Jagannath's Appearance (Part Two)

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Mejhiari, temple inauguration programme,
21 April 2019, noon, part 7
Translated from Bengali

Lalita came to her father, Visvavasu.

'Your son-in-law wants to see the Lord. He was asking me where you went every day – he was asking why when you came back you always brought prasad and so much fragrance of sandalwood and camphor was coming from you. I told him that you went to worship a Deity.'

'What?! You have told him about the Deity? Do you want to destroy everything? This is a disaster!' Then, Visvavasu thought, 'I will have to kill my son-in-law tonight!' As the day went, he thought about it more and decided, 'No, I worship the Lord, how can I kill a man? It is not good.' He showed some intelligence. In the evening, he told Lalita, 'All right, since you have told him everything and he wants to see the Lord, I will take him, but I will take him blindfolded. I will not let him know the path. I will take him there blindfolded, open his eyes to have the darshan of the Lord and then again take him back blindfolded.' Lalita agreed.

Vidyapati also agreed, but when they were alone at home Lalita told him, 'Father can trick you, but I am your wife, I cannot do that. It is my duty to help you. Father does not want to show you the path, but I have an idea. I will tie some mustard seeds in your cloth. When Father takes you by the hand to the Deity and you walk behind him, throw these seeds on the way. When the seeds sprout and grow, you will be able to find the way.'

Vidyapati did as Lalita had told him. When he came to the Deity of Lord Nil-Madhav, he was charmed by the beauty of the Deity. Then, Visvavasu again tied his eyes and took him home. After a few days, it rained, which helped the mustard seeds sprout. Eventually, the seeds grew into mustard trees, and Lalita told him, 'Go and see if you can follow the mustard plants all the way to the Deity.' Vidyapati secretly followed the path and came to the Deity on his own.

When he came back, he told his wife, 'Lalita, look, I have been staying at your house for a long time, but I also have my parents back at home. I should visit them.' Lalita did not say anything; she let him go.

Vidyapati came back to Puri and immediately told the king, 'O King! Success! I have found the Lord.'

'Oh, very good!'

'But the Lord cannot be brought here.'

'The man who worships the Lord is very strict, he will not let anybody take his Deity.'

'What are you talking about? I am the king of Odisha, and he is my subject – how can he not let me have the Deity?! Tie him up and bring him here!' The king sent an army of soldiers on horses to the house. They arrested Visvavasu and put him in jail. They were going to tie up the Lord and bring Him to Puri as well, but the Lord told the king in a dream that night, 'I will not go like this. Visvavasu is My servitor. He has been keeping Me alive with whatever he had – even it is only some roots – but you have suddenly found Me today and arrest him! I will not come to you!'

'O Lord! Please forgive me,' King Indradyumna prayed, 'I have made a mistake!'

'Let Visvavasu go. Let him come to serve Me where he stays. In the meantime you must build Me a house.'

Following the Lord's order, King Indradyumna constructed the temple of Lord Jagannath...

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Size: 28 Mb
Length: 58 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) Gaura-Nitai's Mercy
2) Faith in Deity
3) Madan-Mohan's Miracle (Part One)
4) Madan-Mohan's Miracle (Part Two)
5) Deity and His Devotee
6) Lord Jagannath's Appearance (Part One)
7) Lord Jagannath's Appearance (Part Two)
8) Lord Jagannath's Appearance (Part Three)
9) Eternal Deities of Eternal Servants