Dressed for Winter, Odana Shasthi.

Everyone loves gifts. Handmade gifts are even special. On the ocassion of Odana Shasthi,  Sri Jagannatha in Puri Dham is specially offered starched clothes, to mark the onset of Winter. Our Jagannatha received specially made woollen shawls hand knitted with love from Ajay Govinda Prabhu's mother.. Here are some pictures.

Here is a description of the festival by Srila Prabhupada :
(source ISKCON desiretree)
Srila Prabhupada briefly described the ritual of Odana Sasthi in his purport to Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya lila 16-78:

"At the beginning of winter, there is a ceremony known as the Odana-sasthi. This ceremony indicates that from that day forward, a winter covering should be given to Lord Jagannatha. That covering is directly purchased from a weaver. According to the arcana-marga, a cloth should first be washed to remove all the starch, and then it can be used to cover the Lord."

Odana Sasthi is also described in Caitanya Bhagavata, Antya lila:

Around this time, the festival of Odana Sasthi began at Puri and Lord Jagannatha was dressed in new clothes--all starched. Although starched cloth is considered improper and impure, the purjaris nevertheless dressed Him in this way. On this day the ceremony of 'wearing new starched clothes' was being celebrated with pomp and grandeur. Sri Gaurasundara watched the ceremony along with the devotees. Lord Jagannatha was dressed in various bright colored starched clothes (white, pink and green), and was decorated with garlands and flowers. Varieties of festive music played and Mahaprabhu enjoyed the festival with great pleasure until late in the evening. He then returned to His residence along with His devotees. On the way home the two friends, Svarupa Damodara and Sri Vidyanidhi, raised a discussion regarding the Lord's starched clothes.

Vidyanidhi said, "In this part of the country there is considerable discussion regarding Sruti and Smrti, yet how is it that the Lord is dressed in un-holy starched clothing?
Svarupa Damodara replied, "Perhaps it is the custom of this place.

If it is the custom, then where is the fault? Had it not been the wish of the Lord, the King would have forbidden it."

Vidyanidhi replied, "God can do whatever He likes, but why should His priest attendants put starched clothes on Him.? Starched cloth is so un-holy that the hand which has touched it has to be washed. These things are not decided by the estate officers. I see that the King also wore starched cloth on his head today."

Svarupa Damodara said, "Brother, perhaps there is nothing wrong in using this cloth on the day of Odana Sasthi. Because the Lord Himself has appeared on this earth in the form of Jagannatha Deva, rules and regulations are not applicable to Him."

Vidyanidhi protested, "Jagannatha Deva is the Lord, He is omniscient. But can these people be like Him? Are they beyond all rules and regulations?" In this way the two friends discussed in a jovial mood until reaching their residence, then took rest.

That night Vidyanidhi dreamed that Jagannatha and Balarama were very annoyed with him. They slapped Vidyanidhi on his two cheeks and said, "I have no caste, and neither do my attendants. It is I who have made the rules which you think there is deviation from." Weeping, Sri Pundarika Vidyanidhi put his head on the feet of Jagannatha and said, "Oh Lord, I have been rightly served according to my offence. Today is very auspicious for me, Your good hand has touched my forehead. I do not now what good deed I performed in my previous birth to have such a benediction." The Lord then disappeared. When Vidyanidhi awoke in the morning, he found that his two cheeks were swollen as a result of the slapping by Sri Jagannatha and Balarama.

Every morning Svarupa Damodara came to Vidyanidhi's place and they went to the Jagannatha Mandira for darsana together. That morning Svarupa Damodara arrived as usual, but found Vidyanidhi still lying in bed. When he inquired as to why he was still in bed, Vidyanidhi called him to his side and explained his extraordinary dream. Hearing this and seeing Vidyanidhi's swollen cheeks, Svarupa Damodara was overwhelmed with joy. He said, "I don't know of any other such instance where the Lord has punished a man in his dream, but today I have seen this with my own eyes. Is there any man so fortunate as you in the three worlds?" Svarupa Damodara joyfully praised Sri Vidyanidhi. As a friend feels delighted at the well-being of his friend, so Svarupa Damodara thought himself extremely lucky because of Pundarika Vidyanidhi's fortune.

Here is the loving mother who made  the wraps.

In Praise of Radharani's Braid.

If we look at the sciptures, very often we have verses praising different features of the Lord. To give an example, we hear Satyavrata Muni praising the belly of Lord Krishna and also praising the ropes that bind the belly of the Lord. In the Sri Sampradaya,we have Sri Vedanta Desikan,who wrote an epic composition consisting of 1008 verses praising the footwear of Sri Ranganatha of Srirangam, in response to a challenge posed by a sanskrit scholar. The entire composition was completed overnight and completely defeated the opponent who managed to come up with a hundred verses. With this background information, i am presenting here two verses, one from Srila Krishna das Kaviraj Goswami's Govinda Lilamrita and another from Srila Rupa Goswami's chatuh pushpanjali. Both these verses beautifully sum up the exquisite beauty of Simati Radharani's hair. Here it is for your reading pleasure. Also attached are some pictures of Sri Radha Vrindavanchandra who were visiting us from a friend, to further the envisioning of the descriptions provided in the below mentioned verses. All Glories to Srimati Radharani! All glories to her supremely beauiful braid. Some pictures are Repetitive but Krishna always appears beautiful, each and very moment and so in that mood we are putting this up for your viewing pleasure. The verses: Hanging down Her back, Srimati Radharani's braids are decorated with flowers, tied with ribbons, and pressed by the cluster of necklaces at Her neck. I think these braids are actually a serpent climbing a staircase mercifully created by demigod Brahma from the foothills of Srimati Radharani's hips up to the mountain summit of Her head. 94- Upon Srimati Radharani's arms Visakha then placed flower garland, a blue ribbon, and the golden armlet. In his Catu-puspanjalih [Stava-mala], Srila Rupa Gosvami says: "O Queen of Vrndavana, Sri Radha, I worship You. Your fair complexion is more resplendent than molten gold, the color of Your sari the hue of a blue lotus flower. Your beautiful braided hair is long and raven-black, its coiffure studded with many brilliant gems, like the shining black hood of a cobra. "Even the beautiful lotus in full bloom or the rising full moon offers no comparison to Your breathtaking face, for it is much more exquisite. Your shining forehead is marked by a tidy saffron tilaka. "The arches of Your elegant eyebrows put to shame Cupid's bow. Your cascading black tresses sway, and the dark mascara on Your roving eyes makes them look like restless black partridges. Chatuh Pushpanjali Stava mala

Kanha Graduates/ Gopastami.

"Krishna Govinda Govinda Gopal Nandlal...."HH Lokanath Maharaja's kirtan streams from the speakers. Its a dream come true to actually celebrate Gopastami and dress up Srimati Radharani as a Gopa. This Kartika, the deities seemed to have understood my pleas for extra mercy and we were were surrounded by a host of transcendental visitors. First came Gaura Nitai from one devotee who was away on yatra, They are dressed in pink in the picures, then came two laddu Gopals, from another devotee, and then twice this Kartika, Radha Vrindavanchandra, Nitai Gaurasundar and laddu Gopal visited...to give us some extra mercy. In Kaliyuga the most fallen get the most mercy. Along with our own Big Jagannath, little Jagannath, the Salagram Shilas and Nimai Nitai, the whole house wore a festive look...it was as if a host of stars had converged to witness a graduation ceremony of the most loved cowherd boy, KRSNA. Our Acharyas say that on Gopastami day,Krishna received the honor of grazing cows. He coaxes his parents to let Him become responsible for the cows and finally wins their approval and graduates from herding calves to cows. My reflection and meditation on this festival was the subject of Eagerness.The pastimes of the Lord, Srila Prabhupada said are like a sweetball, anywhere you bite in it is sweet. Srimati Radharani,the epitome of service, the topmost devotee, displays her eagerness to witness this pastime, so much so that she exchanges clothes with Krishna's cowherd friend Subala and appears at the graduation ready to assist Krishna in His cowherding pastimes. In some temples, Srimati Radharani's lotus feet are visible for darshan on this specific day. The eagerness of Srimati Radharani set me praying at Her lotus feet for a drop of that same eagerness to participate and serve in the pastimes of Krishna be it in the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the alluring Nikunjas of Vrindavan, in the pastures of Gokula or in forests of Vrindavan. They set me praying to Gurudeva and Srila Prabhupada to be enthusiastic to serve the mission of Lord Caitanya without any personal preference and to do what is pleasing to Them. we also prayed to the cows to bless us so that we may eternally follow Krishna, bound by His ropes of love, waiting for his call, for a pat on the nose, to run gleefully to Him with tails waving in the air like flags of an army band. Here is a small passage from Srila Jiva Goswamipad's Gopal Champu which describes the unique unparalleled beauty of Radha and Krishna: I have no power to describe how Shri Krishna has all splendor, all handsomeness, all sweet fragrance, and all soft and delicate grace. Is He decorated by ornaments, or is He Himself the ornament that makes the ornaments look beautiful? Are similes and metaphors to spoken comparing Him to other beautiful things, or should beautiful things be described by comparing them to Him? Is He perceived by the eyes and other senses, or is He the creator the eyes and other senses? He does not walk on the path of being understood by the speculative activities of the material mind. Of Shri Krishna it may be said, "Shri Krishna's face is like Shri Krishna's face. Nothing can compare to it." In this way the ananvaya-upama metaphor may happily be used to describe Shri Krishna. As it was said of Shri Krishna's face, so it may also be said, "Shri Krishna's eyes are like Shri Krishna's eyes. Nothing can compare to them." It may also be said, "Shri Krishna's face defeats the lotus flower." It may also be said, "the effulgence of Shri Krishna's teeth is like Shri Krishna's gentle smile." Or it may also be said, "Shri Krishna's gentle smile is like the effulgence of Shri Krishna's teeth." These statements mean, "Shri Krishna's splendor eclipses all other splendors. This kind of metaphor is called "upameyopamana". With this figure of speech it is asserted that Shri Krishna is more glorious than all else and thus cannot be rightly compared to anything but Himself. It may also be said, "Shri Krishna's face reminds us of Shri Radha's face. It is like a duplicate of Shri Radha's face." Or it may also be said, "Shri Krishna's eyes remind us of Shri Radha's Eyes. "In this way Shri Krishna's glorious handsomeness is described by the verbal ornament called "smarana-alankara". Still, Shri Krishna is so glorious He makes us forget all verbal ornaments. He is a kingdom of glorious handsomeness. He shines with great splendor.

Here is a poem by my daughter Vrinda...
Govinda, The Lover of cows.

  

श्रीमती राधिका के चरण दर्शन.

Gopala, Govinda, the keeper of cows
Four different colored cows you call,
Sunrise to dusk you watch them all!
Moo, Ma, Mooo they say in return
Govinda the lover of cows,

Its a call and response Kirtan!

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