RAJAPUR LORD JAGANNATHA TEMPLE

AT SRI SIMANTADVIPA ISLAND OF SRI NAVADVIPA-MAYAPUR DHAMA

THEIR LORDSHIPS SRI SRI JAGANNATHA, BALADEVA, SUBDHARA AT

RAJAPUR; (Chandana Yatra dress)

JAGANNATHA PURI DHAMA IN SRI NAVADVIPA DHAMA

This area is the capital of the Sura dynasty a very long time ago. In “Sri Navadvipa-dhama Mahatmya”, Srila
Bhaktivinoda Thakura describes how Lord Jagannatha left Puri and came here. This area is non-different
from Jagannatha Puri as Lord Jagannatha is eternally resident here. Thus, the same benefits of going to
Jagannatha Puri are gained by visiting this place.

LORD JAGANNATHA’S APPEARANCE IN SRI NAVADVIPA DHAMA

Lord Jagannatha of Sri Simantadvipa is not different from the master of Sri Nilacala Dhama, Jagannatha Puri
Himself. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has re-established this truth with historical facts in his book Sri Navadvipa-
dhama-Mahatmya, “The Glories of Navadvipa Dhama”. The following story is mentioned in that book:

Around Seventh century, one Yavana king named Raktabahu appeared in the region of Orissa. He was very sinful
and irreligious and caused great devastation, destroying temples and terrorizing the hearts of the pious people in
Orissa. When the devotees of Lord Jagannatha in Puri came to know about the mischievousness of Raktabahu, they
became very much afraid. They immediately approached Lord Jagannatha: “O worshipful Lord,” the devotees
prayed, “we are in great anxiety knowing that a miscreant named Raktabahu is breaking down all temples and
destroying the Deities inside. He is now proceeding in this direction. He may come at any moment and attack Your
temple. If that happens, then we will have to give u our lives, because we’ll never be able to tolerate any action
against You. Please, save us from this danger by making proper arrangements for the protection of Your divine form
and the temple, O Almighty Lord!”

Being thus approached by His devotees, Lord Jagannatha appeared in the dream of the head priest that night and
spoke to him as follows: “My dear pujari, I am completely overwhelmed by perceiving the ardent love and devotion
that you devotees have for Me. You all love Me more than your own self. This is the symptom of a pure devotee.
Actually, nobody can harm My divine form or My temple. I certainly need not worry about that. Just by My powerful
will I can keep all miscreants away from the place where I stay with My beloved devotees. But in order to bless My
devotees and to reciprocate with them, many times I accept this kind of ‘hardship’ willingly. In this way My devotees’
love and attachment for Me increases manifold. And since this is their desire, I establish their love for Me in a more
prominent way. Tomorrow, therefore, please, remove the Deities of Myself, Lord Balarama, and Subhadra Devi and
set out for Bengal. You should take the path through the jungle so that you can easily escape Rathabahu, who is
coming by the main road. Have no fear, I will always protect you!”

The Lord then disappeared from the dream and the pujari woke up. He immediately broadcast the message, which
stirred the devotees, and they all started to make the proper arrangements for the Lord’s journey.

The traditional system of service to the Lord in Jagannatha Puri is that devotees from different sections of society
are assigned to various services. For instance, Brahmans are responsible for worship of the Deities. Other devotees
cook for the Lord’s pleasure. Those devotees known as the Sabaras perform the service of carrying Sri Sri
Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra Devi when Their Lordships attend certain festivals like snana-yatra, etc.

When the message reached the Sabaras that the Lord wanted to leave for Bengal, they immediately made all
necessary arrangements for departure the next morning. They walked all day and just before dusk set in, they
settled in a suitable place. There they collected fruits, flowers and leaves from the jungle and worshipped Their
Lordships. Finally, they put Them to rest, and after honouring the Lord’s maha-prasadam they themselves took rest.
The next morning, after the Deities had been worshipped, the Sabaras again started for their destination. In this way
they spent eleven days, and on the 12th day they arrived in Simantadvipa, one of the nine islands of Navadvipa
Dhama.

That night, Lord Jagannatha appeared in the dream of the head Sabara and expressed His desire to settle in this
very place, which was transcendental in all respects. At once, the Sabara devotees made all efforts for the proper
arrangements to fulfil the Lord’s desire to stay there permanently.

The Sabara Vaishnavas went on serving Lord Jagannatha here for generations to come. Due to their pure devotion
and love, they went back to Godhead, to Lord Jagannatha’s eternal abode in the spiritual sky. Till today the Sabara
village, Sabara Danga, is located nearby. Lord Jagannatha however never left Navadvipa-Mayapur Dham, but
instead re-appeared around five hundred years ago through another special pastime, as described below.

“JAGANNATHA SVAMI RE-APPEARS”

At the time of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, a devotee named Jagadisha Ganguli lived in a small village near the
present-day Mayapur. Jagadisha was a highly elevated Vaishnava and even though he was very old, still every year
he would make the 900km journey on foot to Jagannatha Puri on the Bay of Bengal. He would travel with other
devotees from Bengal to meet their most dear Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, have darshana of Their Lordships Sri
Sri Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhadra Devi, and participate in the ecstatic Rathayatra. After four months they
would return to their homes in Bengal.

One day Jagadisha’s happiness was ruined. He was stricken with a serious disease that left him totally blind. When
he realized that he could no longer see the divine forms of Lord Caitanya and the Jagannatha Deities, he became
very depressed. Worse yet, his friends considered the annual pilgrimage to Puri too long and too dangerous for a
blind man and they refused to take him along with them. Jagadisha remained in Navadvipa in constant lamentation
and despondency. Out of hopelessness he even considered committing suicide.

Then one night Lord Jagannatha appeared to Jagadisha in a dream. The next morning, the Lord told him, when
Jagadisha went for his daily bath in the Ganga a log would touch his head and restore his vision. The Lord told
Jagadisha that he should take that log and go to a nearby village where a devotee-carpenter lives. The Lord
explained also that the carpenter would refuse the work because he was a leper and had deformed hands.
Jagadisha would have to insist, and convince the carpenter to do this work. On completion of this job, the Lord
assured, the carpenter’s leprosy would immediately vanish.

Upon awakening, Jagadisha was amazed at his dream. He immediately left for his morning bath in the Ganga and
became ecstatic when a log touched his head and restored his vision. He took the wood and went to a nearby
village, where he searched and searched until he found a leper-carpenter. Jagadisha implored the leper to carve a
deity of Lord Jagannatha from the wood, but the carpenter flatly refused. He showed Jagadisha his deformed fingers
and asked him, “How is it possible for me to carve the divine form of the Lord with these hands?” But Jagadisha
insisted. He explained to the leper that his leprosy would be cured once he finished the carving. Finally the leper
agreed.

Jagadisha stayed with the leper as he was working and saw him suffering terribly. Blood and pus oozed from the
stumps that were once his fingers and he wanted to quit the work. But Jagadisha encouraged him and enabled him
to forget his agony long enough to finish the deity of Lord Jagannatha. The very moment he finished, his leprosy
disappeared.

Jagadisha took the deity to a site near the present Jagannatha temple and established His worship there.

A few nights later, Jagadisha had another dream. This time Lord Jagannatha instructed him to take some nearby
neem wood to the same carpenter and have him make deities of Subhadra and Balarama. Jagadisha did so and
installed Them in the temple next to Lord Jagannatha.

Legend has it that after the demise of Jagadisha Ganguli, the Lord, being dissatisfied with the neglectful state of His
worship, decided to end His manifest pastimes. Suddenly there was an outbreak of cholera. The inhabitants of the
surrounding area assembled at the temple and prayed to Prabhu Jagannatha to have pity on them and save their
lives. That night, Jagannatha came to the head priest in a dream and said, “One of the housewives of the Ganguli
family, who is characterless, dared to dishonour me. For this offense everyone in the Ganguli family and the village
will die if they do not leave the place.” The next morning the villagers found the members of the Ganguli family dead
and immediately deserted the entire area.

Since there was no more worship at the temple, Lord Jagannatha, Subhadra, and Balarama were forgotten, and
save for the flat roof over Their heads, the temple fell down around Them and was soon covered by the surrounding
jungle.

“JAGANNATHA CHOOSES ISKCON”

After Jagadish dasa left this world, the worship of these Deities was gradually neglected and Their temple fell into
ruin. Then, around sixty years ago, a villager noticed a blue flower growing out of a huge termite hill. Coming closer
to the hill, he became astonished upon hearing a voice saying, “Please help Me. Please get Me some water I am
thirsty.” The villager quickly dug into the termite hill and discovered the beautiful deities of Lord Jagannatha,
Baladeva and Subhadra. Even though Their forms were made of wood and They had been under a termite hill for so
many years, Their divine forms were unharmed. After this, Their temple and worship were not maintained,
diminishing year by year, until 1978 when Lord Jagannatha’s aged brahmana pujari requested ISKCON to take over
the temple and worship of the Deities.
TRANSCENDENTALISTS WALKING TO RAJAPUR JAGANNATHA TEMPLE
ENTRANCE TO RAJAPUR JAGANNATHA TEMPLE
TEMPLE GARDENS
Rajapur Jagannatha Temple
 THEIR LORDSHIPS SRI SRI JAGANNATHA, BALADEVA, SUBDHARA

SRI SRI JAGANNATHA, BALADEVA, SUBDHARA (Chandana Yatra Flower Dress)

 “OLD TEMPLE”, “KALPAVRKSA TREE” AND “SIVA-LINGA”
Old Temple: Far right end of the property is where original temple used to be. Jagannatha, Baladeva and
Subdhara stay here for a two-week ‘convalescence’ after Their snana-yatra pastime.
Kalpavrksa Tree: Next to the old temple is a kalpavrksa (wish-fulfilling) tree. Local people have worshiped
Lord Siva and Parvati here for as lomg as can be remembered. It is said that Lord Siva and Parvati came
here to perform austerities and are still present. Many people have had their desires fulfilled by praying
here and leaving a stone hanging on the tree. Vaishnavas can pray to Lord Siva and Parvati for Krishna-
prema.
Siva-linga: Lord Siva is under this tree in the form of a large linga known as Ksetrapala. One day, when
ISKCON first took over the temple, the pujari was making an offering to Lord Jagannatha. He pushed aside
this stone with his leg thinking it was an ordinary stone. Immediately after doing that he developed a heavy
headache and began vomiting. He cycled back to ISKCON but was so sick and weak he collapsed and fell
off the bike a number of times. At ISKCON he was advised to return, worship the linga, and beg
forgiveness for his offense. He did that and was immediately cured.
DEVOTEES DISCUSSING “JAGANNATHA-KATHA”
SRIMATI SIMANTINI DEVI Temple at Rajapur Jagannatha Temple
 LORD SRI GAURANGA MAHAPRABHU and SRIMATI SIMANTINI DEVI at Rajapur
Srimati Simantini Devi is a great Vaishnavi of the Lord, She is none other than Srimati Parvati
Devi. She will perform the function of accepting prasada before distributing, as Vimala Devi in
Jagannatha Puri Dhama.

H.G. Jananivas Prabhu, head pujari at Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Temple narrated, once during
Navadvip Mandal Parikrama, under the guidance of HH Jayapataka Swami, the devotees reached
Simantadvip, near to Belpukur. At that place, where it is said to be the original place of Simantini
Devi, there is a small temple, which has only temporary clay deities of Parvati for festivals and Shiva
Linga as the permanent deity. A devotee suggested making and donating a marble Deity of Parvati to
that temple. On the spot some funds were collected but then, HH Jayapataka Maharaja opposed the
idea as non-Vaishnavas would come to that temple and offer tamasic food, which is against our
standards and we would be unable to maintain a pujari out there.

Instead, he suggested that we build a temple for Simantini within the Jagannath Mandir compound at
Rajapur, which is also situated in Simantadvipa. His Holiness explained that the tradition which is
followed at Puri Dham is that when the Prasad is removed from the altar of Lord Jagannath it is
immediately offered first to Vimala devi (Parvati devi), and only then is it offered to the devotees and
pilgrims. So, he suggested that we can also offer Lord Jagannath's mahaprasad to Simantini devi.

Simantadvipa is a very historical place and many nectarian pastimes took place there. It is the
second island of Sri Navadvipa Dham and embodies the devotional mellow of Sravanam, hearing
about the pastimes of the Lord. This is where Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu delivered Chand Kazi, the
Muslim Magistrate.
HG Jayananda Prabhu's Memorial at Rajapur Jagannatha Temple
 HG Jayananda Prabhu's Memorial at Rajapur Jagannatha Temple

Who is Jayananda Prabhu?

Jayananda Prabhu was born as Jim Kohr in the US to an upper middle-class family. He took a
degree in mechanical engineering from Ohio State University. However he was often
dissatisfied with the material conception of life. Jim was attracted to Srila Prabhupada in
1967, who had been in the U.S.A for only a year and was in the process of establishing his
mission of bringing Krishna consciousness to the Western world. Soon thereafter Srila
Prabhupada accepted Jim as his disciple and initiated him with the spiritual name Jayananda.

Jayananda worshipped prasadam. He loved to cook, eat, offer and distribute prasadam in a
big way. He was always seen chanting and dancing enthusiastically during kirtan. Jayananda
treated everyone as his superior, even new devotees. Although his service was glorious, he
never wanted any glory. Jayananda was an expert at everything: cooking, preaching, Deity
worship, public relations, sankirtan, selling incense, construction, and anything that it took to
spread Krishna consciousness. He was a tireless worker, first to rise in the morning and last
to sleep at night. Jayananda never spoke harsh words or chastised anybody.

During Ratha-yatra he would organize hippies, uncooperative persons and non-devotees off
the street to help build the chariots. Jayananda was the backbone of the Bay area Ratha-
yatra for several years. Behind the scene he would do everything for the preparation of the
festival. He would beg food, flowers, and funds – buy materials and build the carts. He would
arrange for the permits, organize the cooking and serving of prasad. Jayananda had almost
no possessions, even during his years as a householder. For many years he was almost
single handedly supporting the temple by driving his cab for 12-14 hours a day.
His final lesson in material detachment came when it was discovered that he was suffering
from cancer of the lymph and blood. He even used the money given to him for his treatment
to support the Ratha-yatra in Los Angeles. Jayananda continued as if nothing had changed.
When his body became frail and weak, he continued preaching, inspiring and organizing from
his bed in the hospital. For him the body was simply a means to render devotional service to
the Lord.

When he left his body on May 1, 1977, Srila Prabhupada said the following in a letter to
Rameshvara, dated May 11, 1977, New Delhi:

“Jayananda's death is glorious. It is very good that he had stated, what is the use of such a
useless body, better to give it up. He has left his body very wonderfully, and he has been
transferred to Vaikuntha. Everyone should follow the example of Jayananda. I am very proud
that I had such a nice disciple. If possible Jayananda's picture should be hung in the ratha of
Lord Jagannatha, and in all of our temples a day may be set aside for holding a festival in his
honor, just as we do on the disappearance day of the other great Vaishnavas.”
HG Jananivas Prabhu (right) & HG Pankajanghri Prabhu (left) discussing Lord
Jagannatha’s pastimes at Rajapur

Kids Quiz time with HH Bhakti Purusottama Swami Maharaj

“GAURA-ARATI & KIRTAN” lead by HH Candramauli Swami Maharaj

 Diorama display: This is on left side between main gate and the temple.
It depicts the pastime of Lord Jagannatha’s appearance in this Deity form at Navadvipa
Dhama
Directions to reach Rajapur Jagannatha temple:
Rajapur Jagannatha temple is about 8km from Sri Sri Radha-Madhava Mayapur Chandrodaya ISKCON temple. Continue
up Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Marg from Chand Kazi’s Samadhi. Around the first corner and up a short distance, there is a
signboard for the Jagannatha temple. Take the road opposite this signboard and proceed until a beautiful lion gate on
right side. One can also come here by attending Navadvipa-Mandala Parikrama which is organized every year about 10
days before Gaura-Purnima Festival at Sridham Mayapur.

Nearby places to visit:

#1) Kolavecha Sridhara’s place: Kolavecha Sridhar was eternal playmate of Lord Caitanya and very dear to Him.
Several wonderful pastimes happened here including “Banana love-fights” between Nimai and Kolavecha Sridhar. This
place is in the open fields behind Jagannatha temple. One can visit this place passing through vast & very beautiful
mango tree groves behind the temple.
#2) Chand Kazi samadhi: This is about 1km from Jagannatha temple. This place witnessed the pastime of Lord Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Chand Kazi, when Chand Kazi, a Muslim the chief magistrate of Navadvipa banned Harinam-
sankirtana in Mayapur.
#3) Murari Gupta’s house: Murari Gupta was a very intimate associate whose pastimes with Lord Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu were steeped in the loving bond of their eternal relationships. As an incarnation of Hanuman, Murari Gupta is
as dear to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu as Hanuman to Lord Rama.

Lord Caitanya’s Rathayatra Pastimes [Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya-lila Chapter

13]: http://vedabase.net/cc/madhya/13/

Jagannatha Temple Screen-

saver: http://screensavers.iskcondesiretree.info/ISKCON_Mayapur_Screensavers/Jagannath_Temple_Screen_Saver.exe (downloadable)
Simantini Devi Installation: http://old.mayapur.com/node/1706

The Beautiful Life of Jayananda Thakur: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPJ-

pfTZKG4&feature=share&list=UUllj1HX5862ilYDUXRJU5jg
Jayananda Prabhu Bhagavad-Gita
class: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH86iNvteu8&list=UUllj1HX5862ilYDUXRJU5jg
MAYAPUR TV: http://Mayapur.tv / Vrindavana TV: http://www.iskconvrindavan.com/live/

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare |

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare ||