Request of devotees for constructing temple in Vadtal.
Request of devotees for constructing temple in Vadtal.
Suvrat said:-
On the Nirjat Ekadasi day, there came from Vrttalay city Kuber and other devotees, desirous of seeing the Lord. 1.
On getting to see him, they were exceedingly happy; the Lord and king Uttam felicitated them in a befitting manner. 2.
After the conclusion of the Ekadasi event on the next day and after breaking the fast, they bowed to Shri Hariwith folded hands and said, 3.
‘O Lord, listen to our prayer, please; you being affectionate to your devotees. We all have assembled here to have it (our prayer) heeded to.’ 4.
‘Get beautiful temple of Krishna built in our city; this is the wish of all the citizens. ‘ 5. And please understand that the land of the requisite measurements is donated (by us) for that purpose right today. 6.
‘O Shri Hariwe shall render service (unto you) with our wealth. Therefore it is right for you to fulfill this desire of ours. 7.
The Lord’s response.
Prayed thus by those devotees, Shri Harisaid to them, ‘This indeed I shall do, since you are my devotees.’ 8.
Saying this to them, Shri Harithen directed the sage Aksaranand to go along with his companions to Vrattalay, accompanied by the devotees. 9.
‘That country is extremely loved by me as Vrndavan; therefore, O sinless one, get an excellent Krishnatemple constructed there.’ 10.
‘As soon as the temple is ready, I shall go there and install Krishnawith Rukmini at the auspicious time. 11.
Well-versed in that kind of work, the sage said, ‘All right’. ‘O king, those citizen-devotees were very happy (on hearing this). 12.
They stayed there till the pilgrimage of (holy) bath; then directed by Hari, they all departed to their own city in the company of the sage. 13.
On the fifth day, they reached their city. Then they lodged the sage in a suitable house and rendered service unto him. 14.
The temple is ready.
Then, with gladness, they donated a large piece of land required for the temple. It was a present dedicated to Krishna by the devotees, eager to propitiate him. 15.
The sage invited skilled artisans from Vatapattan and got a large and beautiful temple constructed by them. 16.
The citizens who were at his command were busy with that task alone. After a year and three months, the temple was ready. 17.
Then the citizens sent a great devotee by name Jus to bring Shri Harifrom Durgapur for the installation. 18.
Shri Harispends the interim period listening to the Upanisads.
‘O king, after having sent Aksaranand to Vrattalay, Shri Haribecame curious to listen to the Upanisads along with the exegesis on them. 19.
After having brought them with commentaries on the day of Rathayatra, he commenced listening to them at his hermitage after the conclusion of the festival. 20.
He finished that task in the bright half of the month of Asvina on the Kojagara (full moon) day and rewarded the reader with generous fees. 21.
Then Narayan Muni (i.e. Hari) fed thousands of Brahmins and gave them daksina (cash) that day very gladly. 22.
On the same day, the Lord with his followers began the (holy) Kartika bath. And there he celebrated the great Annakut festival. 23.
Departure for Vrttalay.
On the next day arrived Jus (the messenger) and bowing to him said, ‘O Lord, the temple is ready at Vrttalay.’ 24.
‘O Lord, going over there, you should install the deity of Krishna in it; all the citizens are awaiting your arrival.’ 25.
On hearing this news from him, Shri Hariexpressed his desire to go there; then he consulted the astrologer on the opportune time for the installation of Sri Krishna. 26.
The astrologer gave the twelfth day of the bright half of Kartika as the (opportune) time; on that he summoned all his followers and told them that the next day was the day for departure. 27.
He called Uttam, the king and said to him, ‘You, along with your family, should also come to Vrttalay tomorrow with us.’ 28.
The fact is that tomorrow is Bhaibej; so householders should dine at their sisters’ houses and present them with cash and clothes.’ 29.
Yama also dined with (his sister) Yamuna on this day and honored her with wealth and garments. From that (event), this tradition has begun on the earth.’ 30.
You should dine at the residence of Pancali early in the morning and give cash and gifts to all the four sisters separately. 31.
Then along with them and with your wife you should be ready.’ Directed so, he (the king) consented and did accordingly. 32.
Hari, the Lord, completed all his daily rites in the morning; he took his food at noon and departed immediately. 33.
Riding a horse and taking rest in the villages of devotees, he reached Vrttalay early in the morning on the fifth day along with his brother. 34.
Welcome at Vrttalay; installation ceremony.
Received by the eager citizens with the sound of musical instruments, the Lord stayed in the house of a chariot-maker. 35.
He arranged for the lodging of his two brothers with families, for (king)Uttam and his family, for the ascetics, his counselors and foot-soldiers as per their status. 36.
The citizens gladly rendered service unto Shri Harialong with his followers; he went to that temple and inspected all its sides. 37
He saw there three interconnected temples— beautiful and facing the east; there was an auditorium and a caravanserai; seeing these, he was exceedingly pleased. 38.
Then and there he presented the chief artisan with two garments and praised Aksaranand and the citizen-devotees. 39.
At that very moment, he summoned from Udumbarapur Vedic priests and vaisnavas among whom Harisarma was the chief. 40.
Desirous of witnessing that ceremony came men and women in groups from different places, and so did groups of ascetics from the district. 41.
Shri Hariarranged to bring materials required for the installation of Vishnu as explained by the Brahmins well-versed in the rites; these included ghee, sugar and other things. 42.
The priests who were well-versed in the rites of installations got the altar, the pedal and the seats of the deities made as per the prescriptions in the scriptures. 43.
Declaring it an auspicious day, the Brahmins performed the preparatory rites for the installation (svasti-vacana); then they accomplished the installation of the deity with the guidance of Shri Hariin two days. 44.
On the twelfth day, Shri Hariinstalled in the middle temple (the images) of Krishna with Rukmini and conducted a great worship of them. 45.
Then out of his love for the devotees, he installed in the temple to its north his own image with the images of Bhakti and Dharma. 46.
After performing its worship, he then installed in the temple to the south the image of Krishna with Radha and offered worship (to them). 47.
The Lord of the good then installed near that (image) his own image and offered it worship to his own satisfaction. 48.
There was a big sound of songs and musical instruments mixed with the vedic mantras chanted by the priests; and it filled all quarters. 49.
After performing a great Arati, he stood gazing at those images separately without blinking his eyes for (the period of) two Ghatikas. 50
‘O King, then those images let out a mighty gleam; on seeing it all the people were wonderstruck. 51.
After offering oblations during the completion (of the ceremony), he gave the priests their fees; he also offered plenty of donations to other Brahmins. 52.
Hari’s Exhortation.
Occupying a high seat and with one hand raised, he loudly addressed the people thus -’ Let all the people listen to my speech with reverence. 53.
I have installed in the middle temple Laksmi Narayan; know him to be the Lord of Dwarika himself. 54.
In the temple on the right side is installed by me Krishna with Radha who used to roam about in Vrndavan. 55.
Near them is installed my own image for the bliss of my devotees; it is with Dharma and Bhakti (righteousness and devotion) in the temple to the north. 56.
Those who will get the vision of Laksmi Narayan and other (deities) everyday, they will surely be emancipated from ordinary life. 57.
Those human beings who will come from other places on full moon days and have the vision of these (deities) will have all their desires fulfilled, and will beget joy and spiritual emancipation as a result of the blessings of these deities. 58-59.
Those people who perform sacrifice, utter holy names and offer service to this form of Krishna (image) will get their desires fulfilled. 60.
He who is the Lord of Dwarika is doubtlessly the same as Laksmi Narayan; there is no difference between them; this is my true proclamation. 61.
If a doubt arises about this in anybody’s mind, the Lord himself will remove it in a short time.’ 62.
Activities after that.
Suvrat said:-
O king, after saying this, the son of Dharma remained silent. And those people bowed to him and received his instructions gladly. 63.
From that day onwards to the next full-moon day, Narayan Muni fed the Brahmins and gave them Daksina (fees); he gave special fees to the learned among them. 64.
He consummated the holy men with a variety of eatables; every day he himself often served them food. 65.
Devotees from Vatapur wait upon the Lord.
After having made arrangements for the performance of service and festivals to Krishna, he expressed his wish to depart on the very next day (i.e. on Pratipada). 66.
At that very instant arrived from Vatapur (Vadodara) devotees with Nathajit as their head and bowing to him they stood in front of him with folded hands, and prayed, 67.
‘O Lord, in our city there are several followers of different philosophies; they debate with us in the king’s court regarding the meaning of the scriptures. 68.
‘Drawing upon the quotations from the sages (Rsis of the Veda), they refute our contention that the highest bliss is obtainable by obtaining God himself. 69.
Therefore, it will be fitting if you send to our city a philosopher (Muni) capable of refuting their position with the support of Vedic statements. 70.
‘ (It is) not that any doubt is created in our minds by their arguments but it is our wish that their arguments should be responded to. 71.
Narayan Muni sends Muktanand to Vatapur.
Thus prayed to by them, the Lord, who always accepted their mission, said to the learned Swami Muktanand standing in front of him- 72.
O best among the sages, you should go to Vatapur (Vadodara) along with these (people); there is the righteous king Simhajit who is well-versed in ethics. 73.
He will uphold the arguments of only the just side and not any other side; therefore you should provide logical answers based on the scriptures to the disputing parties. 74.
The good are absolutely certain that only dharma emerges victorious, not Adharma; therefore, you being well-versed in dharma should go there and establish it there firmly. 75.
Directed thus he said, ‘O Lord, right today, I will go there and establish true dharma as learnt by me through your grace. 76.
Saying thus and bowing to him, he went to Vratapur, along with those citizens and lodged there at comfort. 77.
Return to Durgapur.
Then the Lord bade farewell to his own people, directing them to return their respective places and on the first day of the month he left for Durgapur with his followers. 78.
Thus ends the twenty seventh chapter entitled ‘Construction of temple at Vrittalay’ in the fourth Prakaran of Satsangijivan, the life story of Lord Narayan, also titled as ‘Dharmashastra’ (the rules of the code of conduct). 27
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