Miracles of Lord Madana Mohana ( True story)

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Hare Krishna !!

MIRACLES OF Madana Mohana

Deity worship is one of the cornerstones of Vaishanava tradition. Even though Sri Krishna is known as Adhokshaja, one Who cannot be perceived by material senses, out of causeless mercy He agrees to manifest Himself in the archa-vigraha form of the Deity. Worshipping the merciful Lord in a Deity form gives a tangible focus to the devotional practices and helps develop a loving relationship with Him. The Deity form does not in anyway limit the Lord, quite the opposite it demonstrates His immense potencies and His love for the devotees.

The Deities Sri Krishna are therefore considered to be non-different from the Lord and are treated with the same love and respect as if the Lord Himself is present there. There have been numerous instances of devotees developing strong relationships with their Deities, and the Deities reciprocating.

The oldest Deity of Sri Krishna is Madana-Mohana. This Deity was first established by Maharaja Iksvaku the son of Sradhadeva Manu (who is the son of Vivasvan, the Sun god). Tracing the events of the manavantra, it can be estimated that the Deity was established about 2 million years ago, in the Satya yuga. Iksvaku belonged to the Suryavansha (Solar dynasty) and the Deity was worshipped by various kings of the dynasty. One of the famous kings to have worshipped Madana-Mohana is Maharaja Ambarish, a pure devotee of the Lord who is said to have perfected all the nine forms of devotional services and later returned to Godhead.

Also coming in the dynasty is Lord Rama, Who worshipped the Deity. Once there was a demon named Lavanasura who was creating trouble in Madhuvana, one of the nine forests of Vrindavan. On the orders of Lord Rama, His younger brother Shatrughana went to this place and killed the demon. Shatrughana then established the city of Mathura and built a temple where Madana-Mohana was worshipped. In this way Madana-Mohana was

worshipped for several years in Mathura.

Later in the sixteenth century the famous Madhavendra Puri, the Guru of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, is also said to have worshipped the Deity. By a series of events the Deity ended in the house of a humble Brahman called Chaube. The Brahman was maintaining the Deity as a family member, performing simple worship with love and devotion. It was here that Sanatana Goswami, one the six Goswami disciples of Caitanya Mahaprabhu first encountered Madana-Mohana, while begging for alms from the Brahman.

He was very much stuck by the beauty of the Deity of Madana-Mohana and also the intimate relationship between the Deity and the family.

That night Madana-Mohana appeared to Sanatana Goswami in a dream requesting that he now worship Him personally. At that time Sanatana Goswami lived as a renunciant, sleeping under trees and eating by madhukari (begging). He expressed reluctance at taking up Deity worship, but Madana-Mohana was insistent, saying that He would accept what ever simple offerings made to Him. So Sanatana Goswami went to the Brahman Chaube to request for the Deity. Even though the family was very attached to the Deity, the Brahman had been instructed by Madana-Mohana in a dream to accept the request of Sanatana Goswami.

So Madana-Mohana was now worshipped in a very simple manner by Sanatana Goswami. Since he was living under trees, eating very frugally, Madana Mohana was also kept in the hollow of trees and given very austere prasadam. Once the Deity appeared in a dream to request Sanatana Goswami for some salt with the dry wheat breads that he was offering. An irate Sanatana Goswami reminded the Deity that he had warned Him of this before taking Him from the Brahman. Being an old man and a renunciant, he was in no position to offer Him opulent food. Sanatana Goswami continued that as time went on, Madana-Mohana would probably make more demands on him and

he would find it impossible to satisfy Him, so it may be better if he returned Him to the Brahman. However Madana-Mohana pacified Sanatana and indicated that He would remain satisfied with simple offerings.

That day a merchant named Ramdas Kapoor, who was taking a ship laden with salt for trading, came to Sanatana Goswami. Apparently his ship had become stuck on the sand bars of Yamuna and all attempts to free the ship had failed. The helpless merchant came to Sanatana Goswami for his blessings. With typical humility Sanatana Goswami requested the merchant to worship Madana-Mohana for His blessings. The merchant worshipped Madana-Mohana and promised that if his ship was freed he would donate all the profits to the Deity.

That night it rained so heavily that the ship was lifted out of the sand bar and freed. The merchant proceeded to his destination and did a very profitable trade. So inspired was he by Madana-Mohana that he not only donated the profits, but most of his considerable wealth towards building of an opulent temple for Madana-Mohana. The temple, one of the most magnificent structures in Vrindavan stands to this day at its original site. Sanatana Goswami now began worshipping Madana-Mohana in this temple and built a bhajan-kutir (small hut) for himself outside the temple.

In the rule of the Mogul tyrant Aurangzeb, who was notorious for defacing Hindu temples, Madana-Mohana was secretly taken away from Vrindavan to Jaipur to be placed under the care of the Rajput kings. It is said that Madana-Mohana briefly stopped at Radha-kunda and Kamavana enroute to Jaipur. Here Madana-Mohana was worshipped by Raja Jai Singh and later by his descendants.

After a few generations, the care of Madana-Mohana came upon one of the princess of the dynasty. She had been worshipping the Deity since childhood and became extremely attached to Him. At the time of her marriage she requested that the Deity accompany her. However her family refused, since the Deity had been with the family for several generations now. In the debate that ensued, the future in-laws of the princess also sided with her. So, finally a test was worked out to determine the wishes of Madana-Mohana.

There were twelve exact replicas of Madana-Mohana made, so expertly that it was impossible to distinguish the original from the copy. The princess was asked to pick any one of the Deity and that would be hers to take. That night the princess prayed for guidance from Madana-Mohana, Who came to her in a dream and said that His original Deity would tip His crown to help her identify Him. Sure enough, the next day when the princess was asked to make a choice in public view, one of twelve Deities tipped His crown and the overjoyed princess picked Him up, the original Madana-Mohana.

The princess took Madana-Mohana to her husband's place in Karoli where she continued to worship Him for several years. The original Deity can still be found in a temple in Karoli, Rajasthana, not very far from Jaipur. A pratibhu murti (exact replica) of Madana-Mohana is worshipped in Vrindavan and is considered non-different from the original.

The name Madana-Mohana means one who enchants Cupid. Madana (Cupid) is said to be so attractive that he enchants every one. However, Sri Krishna is so attractive that He can enchant millions of Cupids. In terms of Bhakti, Madana-Mohana is said to give the true understanding of "Sambanda" to His devotees. This is the first stage of devotion in which the devotee understands the relationships between all the energies of Krishna (internal or spiritual, external or material and marginal or jiva). From this platform a devotee

can progress to Abhideya (establishing this relationship) and Prayojana (enjoying this relationship).

Devotees, just beginning the process of Bhakti, are advised to pray to Madana-Mohana, who very mercifully provides the necessary knowledge to make the desired progress in devotion .

All glories to Sri Sri Madana-Mohana !!!

Bhaktasevak

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NB- Extract of a discourse.

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