On the Grand Road of Puri
Many prayers and hymns dedicated to Shree Jagannatha have been there in my memory since childhood. I felt happy singing the bhajans of Mahaprabhu Jagannatha
Many prayers and hymns dedicated to Shree Jagannatha have been there in my memory since childhood. I felt happy singing the bhajans of Mahaprabhu Jagannatha while studying in school and college. I felt very close to Mahaprabhu. I do not sing the bhajans these days. But I do remember Mahaprabhu and hum his bhajans every day. I always feel the presence of Mahaprabhu near me. He supports me in difficult times. To this day, I hum the song composed by Bhakta Kabi Madhusudan Rao which reads: “The Mahaprabhu is with me day and night; with this remembrance, I shall always worship Him with all my heart.” By the time I reached an age when I could somewhat understand worldly things, I had come to realise the greatness of Mahaprabhu Jagannatha. At home, there were frequent discussions about Mahaprabhu Jagannatha. Such discussions often took place in our village too. When I studied at the village school, the prayer Ahe Nila Shaila written by Bhakta Salbeg was regularly recited. Our teacher used to tell us a lot about Mahaprabhu Jagannatha: There is a huge temple in Puri, and no other temple is as magnificent as that! In the temple, Mahaprabhu Shree Jagannatha is worshipped along with his sister Subhadra and elder brother Balabhadra. Mahaprabhu Jagannatha has dark colour and round eyes. Subhadra’s complexion is yellow and Balabhadra is white like a moonlit flower. Once you see the deities, you can never forget them. Our teacher also used to say Jagannatha is the Mahaprabhu, his prasad is Mahaprasada, His temple is the Bada Deula, or Big Temple, His path is the Bada Danda, that is, Grand Road, and His sea is the Mahodadhi, or the great ocean. Purushottam Kshetra, Puri is far from my native village, Uparbeda in Mayurbhanj district.
How would I get an opportunity to visit Puri? As I grew up, I went to Bhubaneswar and got myself enrolled as a student in Unit-2 Girls High School. I started staying in the hostel there. Then I got a chance to visit Puri, Bhubaneswar, and Konark. The memory of my first darshan of Mahaprabhu Jagannatha is still vivid in my memory. What an impressive temple, such grand deities! Can these ever be forgotten? Unique splendour Can anyone forget the Ratha Yatra of Mahaprabhu Jagannatha? Thirteen festivals are said to be celebrated during the 12 months of a year in Shree Kshetra. But the splendour of the Ratha Yatra, which begins on July 16, 2026, is unique. Devotees throng the temple all through the year to have darshan of Mahaprabhu. But once a year, Mahaprabhu Himself leaves the temple and proceeds to the Gundicha temple along the Vishal Path, giving darshan to His devotees. On three magnificent chariots, the three deities, accompanied by Chakraraja Sudarshana, visit the Gundicha temple. They stay there for seven days and then return. This grand festival of Mahaprabhu is incomparable. Since my childhood, I have been a devotee of Mahaprabhu Jagannatha. He has always been my most revered deity. He governs the ups and downs of my life. He is the fountainhead of my joys and sorrows. I have endured many hardships in my life. And Mahaprabhu has always pulled me out of all those troubles. I am His daughter, after all. When my candidature for the post of the President of India was announced, I reverentially remembered the name of Mahaprabhu. I prayed to the Mahaprabhu, “You are taking me to such lofty heights. I implore You to guide me at every step and always be with me.” He listened to my prayer.
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