(2) At Sri Ananta Vasudev Temple

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Puri Dham parikrama, 2 July 2019, part 2
Translated from Bengali

A very long time ago, Parvati heard from her husband’s holy mouth that on the earth there was a place that was far more charming than even Kailash in Kashi. (It was the Ekamraka forest here, in Bhuvaneshwar.) When she heard it, she became eager to have the darshan of that place. When she arrived, she saw that the place was indeed more beautiful and charming than Kailash. So, she stayed here as a gopi (milkmaid) for fifteen years.

One day, two demons came to the forest. When they saw Parvati, they were taken aback. They approached her and said, ‘What a beautiful girl! What are you doing here?’ Seeing them, Parvati got scared and prayed to her husband. Mahadev Sivji Maharaj immediately came to her. When he heard what the naughty men had said, he told Parvati Devi, ‘They got such a boon from the gods that they cannot be killed by any weapon. By the will of the Lord, you have to slay them yourself, but do not worry, I will tell you how to do it.’

Then, Parvati Devi came to the demons and said, ‘I will fulfil your desire, but I have one condition. I will become a wife to the one of you who can carry me on his shoulder.’ The two demons started fighting over who of them would carry Parvati Devi on his shoulder. Since they could not decide it, Parvati Devi kept one leg on one demon’s shoulder and the other leg on the other demon’s shoulder, and then she made herself so heavy and pressed on them so hard that she killed both demons under her weight.

After killing the demons, Parvati Devi felt very tired and suddenly became very thirsty. Sivji Maharaj came and made a pond for her, but Parvati Devi said, ‘I will only drink water from an eternally manifest pond!’ Then, Sivji Maharaj collected drops (bindu) of water from every holy place and placed them in that pond (sarovar). This is how the pond got its name Bindu Sarovar. This pond was created by Lord Sivji Maharaj himself.

When all gods, including Lord Brahma, bathed in this pond, then Sivji Maharaj prayed to the Lord, ‘O Lord, O Purusottam! Please give me Your permission to stay here, on the bank of this pond, near Ananta Vasudev.’ Hearing Sivji Maharaj’s prayer, Lord Ananta Vasudev fulfilled His dear devotee’s desire and came to stay on the bank of this pond as the guardian (Ksetrapal) and Sivji Maharaj left Kashi and came to live here.

From that time, bhoga is first offered to Sri Ananta Vasudev, and then Sivji Maharaj takes His prasad. This ancient temple of Sri Ananta Vasudev exists to this day. Those who bathe in this Bindu Sarovar attain liberation as bathing in this pond equals to bathing in the ponds of all holy places. The result of taking the darshan of Lord Sri Ananta Vasudev is boundless.

So, coming to this dear pond of Lord Siva, Mahaprabhu bathed in it and after that came to the temple of Sri Bhuvaneshwar Ananta Vasudev. He danced and chanted kirtan in front of it.

...And I will tell you about Lord Lingaraj – we will not be able to take the microphone with us into the temple, so I will tell you about this temple here. We will only go there, pay our obeisances and then return to the buses. Microphones, mobile phones or cameras are not allowed into the temple. This is the rule of the temple. So, I will read you about it from Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata. People cannot read big books, so I have taken extracts from there and collected here, in this book Sri Puri Dham Mahatmya-mukta-mala. What I write is not take from the sky – it comes from the scriptures.

In ancient times, Sivji Maharaj, who used to live in the holy abode of Kashi, told the great sage Narada, ‘I do not want to stay here anymore. Even proper religion will not stay here because everybody has become unreligious and wicked! I cannot practise my austere vows here anymore. But where shall I stay?’ Then, following Narada Muni’s guidance, Sivji Maharaj came together with Parvati Devi to Kailash.

In the meantime, after Lord Siva left Kashi, human kings started to enjoy in Kashi without restrain. Among them there was a king called Kashiraj. His wickedness gradually increased more and more, and as the result he became determined to defeat Lord Krishna, so he started performing severe austerities to worship Lord Siva. Siva Thakur’s name is Ashotosh (it means that it is easy to please him), so, satisfied with the austerities of the king, Lord Siva came to him and asked him what he wanted. The king said that he wanted to defeat Krishna, and Siva promised to help him with his pashupat weapon.

(Just see how much he wanted! Lord Siva always chants Lord Krishna's Name, but this king comes to him and says that he wants to defeat Krishna! How audacious! Anyhow, Lord Siva promised to help him with a weapon called pashupat. You know that in Nepal there is a Deity of Lord Siva called Pashupatinath. Gurudev said that Lord Siva is called Pashupatinath because he has five faces and the pashupat weapon.)

Krishna is the Lord of Lords, He knows everything. He thought, 'Oh, so you are bringing your pashupat? Very good – I also have My weapon!' He summoned His Sudarshan chakra and beheaded the king with it. All residents of Varanasi shivered out of fear and prayed to Lord Krishna. When Lord Siva saw Sudarshan chakra, he became very scared too and surrendered at the holy feet of Lord Krishna, asking Him to forgive his offence, 'O Lord, please forgive Me! That king made me happy with his puny penance, and I gave him that weapon. I have made a big offence!' To teach everybody, Lord Krishna forgave the offence of His dear eternal servitor Siva.

After that, Sivji Maharaj very meekly asked Lord Krishna, ‘O Lord, where shall I go now? Where shall I live?’

‘Go to the forest Ekamraka, you can live there,’ merciful Lord Krishna replied.

This Ekamraka forest is called ‘Gupta Kashi’ (‘Hidden Kashi’) or ‘Bhuvaneshwar’. Supreme Lord Krishna Himself said, ‘I have given you a place to the north of My town Puri. This charming place grants all wishes and liberation. Live there; you will be renowned as “Sri Bhuvaneshwar” (the Master of the Earth)’ (Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, 3.2.378–379) and, ‘Listen, Siva, you are non-different from My own body. That which is dear to you is even dearer to Me. I am present wherever you are – it cannot be otherwise. I have given you a place at every holy place, so you are the protector and the caretaker of all My places – I have bestowed this right on you. You must stay at this Ekamraka forest that I have given you in your fully manifest form. This is My very favourite place, so please Me by staying here all the time’ (Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, 3.2.389–393).

(In every holy place of the Lord, Lord Siva stays there to guard and protect it. That is why in Koladwip we have Sada-Siva Gangadhar, there is also Ksetrapal Siva in Mayapur. There is Chakleshwar in Govardhan, Gopeshwar in Vrindavan, and so on.)

Jay Sri Bhuvaneshwar Lingaraj ki jay.
Jay Sri Ananta Vasudev ki jay.

— : • : —

{ 2001  |   2002  |   2003  |   2005  |   2009  |   2010  |   2011  |   2012 }
{ 2013  |   2014  |   2015  |   2016  |   2017  |   2018  |   2019  |   2020  |   2021 }

CLICK TO LISTEN TO THE LECTURE

Size: 5 Mb
Length: 11 min
Language: Bengali

READ OTHER PARTS:

1) At Sri Alarnath Temple
2) At Sri Ananta Vasudev Temple