Jagannatha is a wooden form of Krishna.
Jagannatha does not look like Krishna, so we may wonder how He can be Krishna. Scriptures tell the story behind Jagannatha’s peculiar form.
The Skanda Purana relates King Indradyumna’s quest to find a deity form of Krishna after dreaming of a beautiful blue deity named Nila Madhava. The name describes the sapphire color of the deity: Nila means blue, and Madhava is one of Krishna’s names. King Indradyumna sent messengers in all directions to find Nila Madhava, and a brahmana named Vidyapati returned successful. He discovered that Vishvavasu, a pig farmer (savara) in a remote tribal village, was secretly worshiping Nila Madhava. When Vidyapati later returned to that place with Indradyumna, however, Nila Madhava was gone. King Indradyumna surrounded the village with his soldiers and arrested Vishvavasu.Then a voice from the sky proclaimed, “Release the savara and build a big temple for Me on top of Nila Hill. There you will see Me, not as Nila Madhava, but in a form made of neem wood.”
Nila Madhava promised to appear as wood (daru), and thus He is called daru-brahma ("wood-spirit"). Indradyumna waited by the ocean, where the Lord arrived as a giant log floating toward the beach.
Disguised an old man, Vishvakarma, the architect of the demigods, arrived to carve the deities under the condition that he would remain undisturbed for twenty-one days. King Indradyumna consented, and the artist worked behind locked doors. Before the time period was up, however, the noise stopped, and King Indradyumna’s intense curiosity prompted him to open the doors. Vishvakarma had disappeared. In the room, the three deities of Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhadra looked as if unfinished—without hands or feet—and Indradyumna became greatly perturbed, thinking he had offended the Lord.
That night, Jagannatha spoke to the king in a dream and reassured him, explaining that He was revealing Himself in that form out of His own inconceivable desire, to show the world that He can accept offerings without hands, and move around without feet.
Lord Jagannatha told the king, “Know for sure that My hands and feet are the ornament of all ornaments, but for your satisfaction, you may give Me gold and silver hands and feet from time to time.”
Devotees now worship the same “unfinished” forms of Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhadra in Puri and in temples around the world. These forms are part of their eternal pastimes.
This is how Lord Krishna's another name is Jagganatha!
Contributed by miss__aishaa
YOU ARE READING
Krishna Katha
Historical FictionSri Krishna is the beloved Boatman who untiringly plies His Boat of Consciousness between our unparalleled thoughts and his unrivalled spirituality. For our Kanha, the Gita is his Heart, his Vision, his Fulfilment. For us, the Gita is humanity's bre...
