Page 7 - Story of Lord Jagannath’s Appearance

Indradyumna then prayed to Lord Brahma to consecrate the temple
and the surrounding area, known as Sri Kshetra which gives the highest
type of libera on. But Lord Brahma said, “This Sri Kshetra is manifested
by the Supreme Lord’s own internal potency, and the Supreme Lord
manifests Himself. Therefore it is not within my power to install the
Lord here. Lord Jagannatha and His abode are eternally situated in this
material world by His own mercy. Therefore I shall simply place a flag
on top of the temple and give this blessing: anyone who from a dis‐
tance sees this flag and bows down, offering his prostrated obeisances,
shall easily become liberated.” A er some me, King Indradyumna be‐
came discouraged at so much delay in seeing Sri Nila‐madhava. Decid‐
ing that his life was useless, he lay down on a bed of kusha grass, being
determined to give up his life by fas ng. At that me Lord Jagannatha
spoke to him in a dream as follows: “My dear King, don’t be anxious. I
shall come floa ng in from the sea in My wooden form as Daru‐
brahman at the place called Bankimuhan.” With a company of soldiers,
the King then went to that place and saw on the shore a huge piece of
wood marked with a conch, disc, club and lotus. Although he engaged
many men and elephants to move that Daru‐brahman, or woody Brah‐
man, they couldn’t even budge it. But that night in a dream Lord Jagan‐
natha again spoke to the King, saying, “Bring My previous servant Vish‐
vasu, who used to serve Me as Nila‐ madhava, and place a golden chari‐
ot in front of Daru‐ brahman!”

The King began to work according to the instruc on of that dream. He
brought the Sabara Vishvasu and put him on one side of Daru‐brahman,
and on the other side he put the brahmana Vidyapa . Placing a golden
chariot before the Daru‐brahman, he then started kirtana, chan ng of
the holy names of the Supreme Lord. Then the King caught hold of Daru
‐brahman and prayed for the Lord to mount the chariot. Daru‐brahman
was then easily placed on the chariot and taken to an appointed place.
There Lord Brahma began a sacrifice and established a Deity of Lord
Nrisimhadeva on the raised pla orm of the sacrifice. It is said that the
place where the present temple stands is the place where the sacrifice
was performed and that the Nrisimha Deity now standing at the west‐
ern side of the Muk ‐mandapa in the temple compound is that original
Nrisimha Deity.