In my vaishnava faith, or bhakti yoga, poetry is an art…
… a way of expressing our deepest feelings towards Krishna,
the Supreme Lord. This poem was written a day before Chennai the Ratha Yatra
festival, in the city of Chennai, India, where I live. It is an ancient festival in
which the deity of the Lord of The Universe, also known as Jagannatha comes out
of the temple for all to see and be blessed.
My poem is about Lord Jagannath’s appearance and his most
attractive features. After attending Sri Kshetra Parikrama in December, which
is a 19 mile pilgrimage of Puri, Orissa -home to the most ancient Lord
Jagannatha temple- my love for Jagannath wonderfully increased immensely. This, in turn, inspired me to write this poem about him.
To the Lord of The Universe I surrender my body and my soul. For
his pleasure and for the pleasure of his devotees, and all who read it, I have
written this poem. Hare Krishna.
Lord of The Universe
When I was young
I saw
your cute little face,
Your hands shrunk inside
your body
and head had no space.
I thought how weird it was
for
Krishna himself to show
his darshan to all in this way
The
secret I wanted to know.
The story dated years back
when Rohini
started to say
Krishna’s wifes all present
and Subhadra
guarding the gateway.
All still and frozen like ice
when they
heard the very start,
as Krishna cried for Radha
in
separation’s distance apart.
Hearing this from far
Lord Balaram
and Krishna arrived,
from nowhere to be seen
to hear
the story they strived.
When they saw Mata Subhadra
her ears
pressed on the door,
her eyes open widely
her hands
were no more.
They wondered in curiosity:
“What is
going on here?”
They went towards the door
and on it,
placed their ears.
Rohini Mata then narrated
how tears
wept like a river,
 |
| Deities at ISKCON Guyana Crane Temple |
to meet
him was her endeavor.
Hearing this their eyes opened wide
in
thought of separation,
Their hands and legs shrunk
no one
could understand this situation!
Passing them went Lord Narada
who
stopped and saw this in glee:
“Lord Jagannath! Baladev! Subhadra!
What merciful
forms I see!”
He begged Lord Jagannath
to show
mercy to all who live,
By appearing in this form
for heaps
of blessings he should give!
Granted Lord Narada’s wish
pleased
as Jagannath was,
Showing his wonderful mercy
by
appearing for this cause.
Now, if you see Lord Jagannath
he’s a
thief so sweet,
He’ll steal your heart in seconds
making
you fall onto his lotus feet.
His wide-open eyes
gives
warmth to your heart,
telling you he’s there
for your
problems from the start.
His cherry color lips
gives a jolly
big smile,
Making your day so happy
you
forget your worries for a while.
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| Deities at Jagannath Temple Puri, Orissa, India |
though
small, reach out to you!
For a hug to cure your illness
given to
devotees old or new.
Jagannath doesn’t see caste
nor does he
sees your sex,
You have a craving heart
that’s
the only thing he checks.
The moment you start to utter “Jaga”
By the
time you end with “nnath”
he stands
Right in front of you
holding
both of your hands.
His sweet voice then says
“Did you
just call me?
Don’t worry I’m here now,
And from
your bonds you’re free! “
So let us jump and dance
“Hare
Krishna Hare Ram”
I’ll take you back to Goloka
This is
the way he works his charm!
Hreenka Mg: “I am originally from Chennai, India and am
currently obtaining my bachelor degree in biomedical engineering. My parents are
initiated by Jayapataka Swami, and I am also aspiring for that same shelter. I
started writing poems at the age of 16. My inspiration was my mother who is
also a wonderful poet. I may not be a great poet but I love writing poetry for
the sake of Krishna and his devotee’s pleasure. I wish to continue writing
bigger and better ones soon! Besides poetry I have a love for singing and
dancing.”
~If you are interested in seeing your poetry appear in this blog, or submitting a poem by a woman that has inspired you, please click here for submission guidelines. I greatly look forward to hearing from you!~
This is a very beautiful poem explaining the appearance of Lord Jagannath, Baladev and Subhadra. Please keep on writing such poems more and more in the glorification of Lord and for the pleasure of his devotees and for the benefit of the entire world.
ReplyDeleteDeep
Thank you prabhuji.Mercy of devotees like u is just what i need to continue writing many more poems about the lord.hare krishna :)
DeleteWelcome to the Women's Spiritual poetry blog, dear Hreenka, and thank you for sharing with us a poetic glimpse into your relationship with Lord Jagannath! This is my favorite verse: "Now, if you see Lord Jagannath he’s a thief so sweet, He’ll steal your heart in seconds, making you fall onto his lotus feet." I encourage you to continue expressing your heart in this way and sharing it with others.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much mataji.With your mercy and blessings I shall write many more poems about krishna for the pleasure of his devotees.
ReplyDeleteThis is really wonderful indeed... can't seem to get enough of your marvellous poetry.. may you get more and more inspiration from the Lord... and may you get even more mercy from your diksha guru in the future.. Hari Hari.. ^_^
ReplyDeleteArun