Chandana Yatra -- Akshaya Tritiya

[Guest guest]

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

 

-------

 

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.