Chandana Yatra - Akshaya Tritiiya on -30-4-06

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Chandana Yatra Candana yatra starts on the third lunar day of the waxing

moon of Vaisakha month, and continues for twenty days. Lord Jagannatha gave

direct instructions to King Indradyumna to perform this festival at this time.

Smearing the body of the Lord with ointments is an act of devotion, and the

best of ointments is sandalwood paste. Since the month of Vaisakha is very

hot in India, the cooling effect of the sandalwood is very pleasing to the

body of the Lord. Sandalwood paste is applied all over the body of

Jagannatha leaving only his two eyes visible. The utsava murtis (functional

Deities - Vijay utsav) are taken on procession and are placed in a boat in

the temple pond. To commemorate this festival, Lord Caitanya also carried out

water sports with his devotees. One can apply the candana saying:

Om gandhadvaram duradarsan nitya pustam karisinim isvari'gum

sarvabhutanam tvam ihopa hvaye sriyam

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Akshaya TritiiyA Candana yatra starts on this day, which is celebrated as

well as the day on which treta yuga began. Barley, one of the main

ingredients for homa, which is the yuga dharma of Treta Yuga, was also

created on this day. Ganga devi also descended to earth on this day. Many

common people have special puja on this day. One should bathe in a sacred

river, give charity, perform japa and offer barley in a sacred fire, and

offer barley preparations to the deity. Akshaya Tritiya day is the very

auspicious day - there's no inauspiciousness to be found today so even

checking muhurthas is considered unnecessary, so auspicious it is. Whatever

one does for devotees, and for Krsna that person will get more benefit and

it is eternal benefit and never lost. He said one story of a brahmana:

there was a brahmana who had a very good wife and was poor. Whatever

little money he got would get spent somehow. Also he did not have children.

So under the strong request of his wife he went to Vasishta muni to know the

reason for his suffering. Vasishta muni told him that in his previous life

he was very rich and also had many children. But he was very stingy, he was

not even spending for his own children. This is the reason for his being poor,

also without children. Then that brahmana asked Vasishta muni why he got a

good wife. So that Muni replied that somehow with some reason, he observed

that the vrata of Vaishaka month for the last 5 days. So he got a good wife

and also the brahmana birth. Then the muni advised him to follow at least the

last 7 days left of Vaishaka month, with devotion to Lord Krsna. Since

that brahmana observed the vrata of Vaishaka month for that at least the

left out 7 days, he got sons, he became rich, ultimately he got Love of

Godhead and went back to the spiritual world! It is

important to hear such a story/pastimes as this so that at least by hearing

this, we engage ourselves in the service of Guru, the Vaishnavas and Krsna.

Thus becoming inspired to always render service the devotee is always the

beneficiary of such interaction with the Vaishnavas, one's Guru and Lord Sri

Krishna. Akshaya tritiiyaa: (from the Calendar of the Madhwa Vaishnavas)

The third day in the bright fortnight of vaishaakha is the day of the

incarnation of Lord Vishnu as Parashurama. The icon is decorated with an

axe, to depict Him in a heroic pose. This coincides with the anniversary of

passing of Sri Vijayadhvaja Tiirtha, the sixth piiThaadhipati in the lineage

of Sri Pejawar Mutt. He is famous for his commentary upon the Srimad

Bhaagavata epic. He lived in the 15th century and his vrindavana (samadhi)

is in Kanva Tiirtha. There is also a pipal tree by the side of the

vrindavana under which he is believed to have written his

commentary. During the tenure of Sri Pejawar MaTha a special festival is

arranged in Sri Krishna Mutt on this day and the akshaya paatra given by Sri

Madhva is offered a special puuja. This akshaya patra is said to have been

given by the Sun god, it is the same pot that mother Draupadi used to cook

in. It is said that from the time of turning it upwards for use on a day the

pot will provide unlimited amounts of foodstuffs for the satisfaction of the

Lord. There is a story in this connection wherein the angry sage Durvasas

came to Draupadi demanding foods: On the Pandavas return to Hastinapur

they resided in the palace created for them by the demon Maya Danava.

Mayasura built this palace out of gratitude to Krsna for saving him in the

forest fire in the Khandava Forest where he was hiding when Agni devoured

it. He also presented Bhima with a magnificent fighting club. After the

Rajasurya sacrifice was performed, Duryodhana, being

always envious of the Pandavas, came to the mansion created by Maya

Danava's illusions. Bewildered by illusions of many kinds, Duryodhana mistook

the solid floor for water and lifted the end of his garment to walk forward

on what he thought was shallow water but it was solid floor, and after a few

more steps he fell into waist deep water mistaking it for a solid floor. Proud

Duryodhana, who was wearing his crown and a costly necklace was very angry,

but when he fell into the water everyone laughed, especially Draupadi and

Bhima. Yudhisthira tried to check the laughing of all the women in the

palace, by raising his hand and his glances. Lord Krsna however, encouraged

it by the suggestive gestures of His eyebrows. Humiliated and swearing

revenge, Duryodhana turned his face downwards and went back to Hastinapura.

The Kurus then made a conspiracy to trick Yudhisthira into a gambling match

by which the Kauravas (Kurus) could cheat the Pandavas out

of everything with the dice made from Sakuni's bones. During the match

Yudhisthira lost his kingdom, wealth, jewelry, clothing and finally even

gambled and lost his wife. When Dussasana went to fetch the chaste Draupadi,

she said she couldn't come to the assembly as she was undergoing her monthly

period, and was only dressed in one piece of cloth (a simple 'sari').

Draupadi had a beautiful bunch of hair which was sanctified at the

ceremonial Rajasurya Yajna, but Dussasana defiled that sacred lady and

grabbed her by her hair just to insult her. When he started to pull off her

sari just to make her naked, Draupadi, realizing that she had no hope of

help from her husbands as they too had been lost, by Yudhisthira being

tricked into upholding mundane moralistic codes and now had no free will to

act (though Bhima was transcendentally situated from such sentimental codes

his brothers tried to make him restrained to follow Yudhisthira's mood

and etiquette). Draupadi then cent per cent, completely surrendered to

Krsna, and to the amazement of the assembly, as much 'sari' as Dussasana

took from her body, as much again replaced it. Lord Krsna, though protecting

his surrendered devotee, decided that for their sinful behaviour the Kurus

would be inevitably killed at the Battle of Kuruksetra and all of their

wives would too loosen their hair in public, but this time as widows.

When the Pandavas were exiled to the forest for twelve years after a second

gambling match, the Kurus made a clause, that after the completion of twelve

years the Pandavas had then to spend one year incognito, thus making

thirteen years all told. If, during the final year the Pandavas's whereabouts

were discovered, they again had to spend another twelve years in the forest.

Because the Pandavas were concerned how to feed the 'brahmanas' who

accompanied them to the forest, Srimati Draupadi Devi was given

a pot by the sun god called by Aksayapatra. This pot would never be empty

until Draupadi had taken her meal and turned the pot upside down. Then it

would produce no more for that day. Once Draupadi had finished cooking and

had just taken her meal when the Muni Durvasas arrived with many of his

disciples. The angry sage Durvasas and his disciples had secretly been asked

to go there by the Kauravas who knew that by this time Draupadi would have

taken her meal, and if she was unable to offer them anything to eat, she

would incur the wrath of Durvasa. Durvasas and his disciples went to the

river to bathe and freshen up before taking their meal. Draupadi, full of

anxiety, prayed to Lord Krsna to help her. Lord Sri Krsna then told Draupadi

that if there was a morsel of food left He would be satisfied if that were

offered by Draupadi, His pure devotee with love to Him. Seeing a fragment of

spinach stuck to the side of the pot, Krsna asked for

it, Draupadi offered it to Krsna, and simply by eating that morsel of

foodstuffs, all of Durvasas' men and Durvasa himself became completely full

and satisfied, and out of embarrassment slipped away and didn't come to demand

a meal from Draupadi as the sinful Duryodhana had arranged for them to do.

 

 

 

 

 

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