Origin Of The Origin: Quest For A Date With Nila Madhava

The King arranged to go to Purushottama kshetra with all residents of Avanti, and the departure day was fixed on Sukla Paksha Sasthi, in the month of Jyestha, on a Wednesday.

At Jagannatha temple, that day is still marked as Sitala Sasthi and the anniversary of Shiva’s marriage. On this day, Madana Mohana and Shiva (in the form of Pancha Pandavas: Lokanatha, Yamesvara, Nilakantha, Kapalamochana and Markandesvara) feast together.

According to the Vana Parva of the Mahabharata, it is believed that the Pandavas reached Puri on this day for the first time, along with Lord Krishna, to get a darshan (divine grace) of Purushottama and stayed for three days.

As stated in the Indranilamani Purana, King Indradyumna was accompanied by Narada Muni, four Brahmanas – each an expert in one of the Vedas – two body guards, a minister, the queen and four trusted friends.

These 14 people constituted the royal entourage from Avanti (modern-day Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh). After crossing the Mahanadi and visiting many Devas and Devis (goddesses) like charchika and others, the entourage reached river Gandhabaha where the king heard divine sounds of mantras being chanted and was under the assumption that he had reached Purushottama kshetra.

However, Narada Muni explained to the king that he had arrived at Ekamra kshetra (what is modern-day Bhubaneswar), which had been created by Sri Vishnu with his Sudarshana chakra when He rested here as Ananta Vasudeva after killing the demons.

Narada Muni advised the king to take a bath in the Bindu Sarovara and have the audience of Ananta Vasudeva and Lingaraja.

Lingaraj or Lord Shiva blessed Indradyumna and spoke to him about the glories of Purushottama kshetra, telling him also that he resides in Purushottam kshetra as the Astha Sambhu (Shiva in eight forms).

Indradyumna visited other places like Belesvara and Nilakanthesvara under the guidance of Margadevi (Batamangala) on his way to Purushottam kshetra, but was aghast to learn that Nilamadhava had disappeared after being seen by Vidyapati.

But Narada comforted the king, saying that he would have the great fortune of installing the Nila Madhav deity, but in order to be able to see Indranilamani Madhava, the king would have to first perform one thousand Ashvamedha yajnas (sacrifices).

On completion of the Ashvamedha yajnas, Nila Madhava appeared in a dream and informed the king that he would have to retrieve the sacred Daru from the ocean and prepare new deities (forms) to be installed at a grand temple.

Interpretation: Strange and mystic are the ways of the Lord. His designs are unfathomable for human minds. Since the Lord has come from Nature, he chose to remain “organic” and rooted in nature. Jagannath is made up of a piece of Neem tree, what we call Daru or Mahadaru and the Lord is known as Daru Debata. The other deities are made up of clay, rock or metals. He is the Nature God for the Cosmos.

It is believed that after Vidyapati’s darshana, the Indranilamani Madhava had disappeared into Patalaloka (the sub-land or the recess below land surface). On this day of installation, during the Navakalevara ritual, the descendants of Vidyapati, belonging to the Kaundinya gotra, move the nabhi Brahma (considered as Indranilamani) from the old deities to the new ones, to be made from the sacred Daru from the ocean.

Guided by the dream, the king and his party started climbing the Nilachala hill, arrived at Kalpa Bata and had the audience (darshana) of Adi Narsimha.

Indradyumna was instructed to worship Adi Narasimha and installed the deity of Narsimha as the ista deva (presiding Lod) of the yajna (sacrifice).

Without the endorsements of Narsimha, the yajna couldn’t have been performed and nor the Lord installed and consecrated.

The yajna was performed in a kunda (holy pit) 14×7 hasta (about 7×3.5 feet) wide, according to the specifications (for the Vaishnava Samskaras). The yajna ceremony was so detailed and grand that it was unprecedented for any of the yugas, and even the established Purushottama kshetra the most important kshetra/location of the universe.

The night before the last day of the yajna, Indradyumna had a dream in which he visualised the form of Jagannatha, Balabhadra, Subhadra and Sudarshana and the day, as per the tithi (the oracle calendar), was Asadha sukla Navami, which is celebrated as Sandhya Darshana (Indradyumna Mahotsava) during the annual Ratha Yatra festival.

The king’s exotic dream can be described as:

Diptam balarka-koti prabhamanalashikamsapta-jihvagrajvalam madhyesubhram prashantam phanimukuta manishobhitam kamapalam tanmadhyeshankrachakranalinavala gadan dharinamlakshminathan bhadramalingya vakhyamapasyan rupa tan saccidanandarupam (Skanda Purana)

“Among the seven radiating tongues of Agni, that appeared to be brighter than thousands of new Suns, in the centre, he saw Kamapalam Balabhadra, white in colour with a peaceful expression and a crown of snakes decorated with gem stones. In the centre he saw the Lord of Lakshmi Devi (Lakshminatha), holding sankha, chakra, gada and padma and embracing Subhadra on the left side of His chest. Sudarshan appeared as the radiance around Them.”

The yajna ceremony continued for 10 days, at the end of which the king distributed many cows and other gifts to the invitees, especially to the Brahmanas. Following the rituals minutely, (as per the Soma yajna paddhati or procedure), King Indradyumna accompanied by his queen completed the avabhrita snana in the Mahodadhi (the ocean) in the place that is famous as Rakta tirtha or Chakra tirtha, which falls between Bilvesvara in the north and the Mahavedi in the south.

The deities installed at this place (now known as Chakra Narasimha temple) are Chakra Narasimha, Adi Narasimha and Lakshmi Narasimha.

As soon as the bath ceremony got over, a huge log of wood arrived on the shore, its roots still pointing to the ocean.

The tree was marked by symbols of the chakra and sankha, and it was coiled by ethereal and exotic shrubs and plants with fragrance.

Narada explained that this huge log was one hair of Vishnu from Svetadvipa. The Daru (the sacred log) was taken to the Adapamandapa (the place of the yajna or the yajnasala) at the present-day Gundicha.

The Daru was worshipped at the spot and when Indradyumna asked Narada Muni about the shape and form of the Lord to be carved from the log, Narada replied that it was up to the Lord and His commandments and as is His wont, a voice from beyond said:

Suguptayammahavedyamsvayamso’avatarisyati prachadyatamdinanyosah jabat panchadashani vai

“This log of wood has come to be installed on the Mahavedi as per its own wish. You must seal this area completely for the next fifteen days.”
To Be Continued

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