Jagaddhatri

Joyous Puja of Jagaddhatri

Adhiwas and after.....

The celebration began on 9th November with adhiwas in the evening. On 10th the Puja was performed in three stages namely forenoon, noon and afternoon. At 3.30 PM a Yagna was undertaken with the motto of universal peace and prosperity. Durga Saptasati recital was done three times till the starting of yagna. From 1 PM onward Khitchuri prasad was distributed among an estimated gathering of 22 thousand devotees who stood in serpentine line in an orderly manner. At 6.30 PM the omnipresent Mother Jagaddhatri charmingly glowed when the wonderful twilight- worship (sandhyarati) was done with waving of 32-jhar pradeep. On 11th the image was immersed at the close of sunset in our own reservoir while earlier in the morning the darpan visarjan was performed with due solemnity. It was a charming scene when the image was carried on a tractor surrounded by innumerable devotees including a large number of local adivasis who spontaneously went into a dancing mood to the vibrant beating of Dhakis who were specially brought from Bankura.

Mela and khela.....

A spiritual atmosphere was created when the monastics and devotees of the Sanatorium sang several songs in praise of Divine Mother. In a separate pandal adjacent to the mandap, adivasi devotional songs were rendered by the disciples of internationally famous Sri Bharat Nayak, an exponent in nagpuri style of music. School children joyously danced to his tunes. It is well known that the blissful Mother's worship is popularly known as Jagaddhatri mela among the villagers. It was a sight to see a good number of small vendors appearing on the scene displaying their wares. With grand jubilance the people were making purchases from the small shops. The surging children had a field day when they could lay their tiny hands on charming toys. Mention must be made of the Book Sale Counter put up by an enterprising young man with a team of able assistants.

Men and women.....

The Puja was performed by Swami Shantatmanandaji from the Ramakrishna Mission Headquarters Belur Math. Along with him Swami Swatantranandaji from Kankurgachi Yogodyan Math had also come and acted as Tantradharaka. Besides, Swami Paradevananda, ex-head of Bagerhat centre of Bangladesh, Swami Suprakashananda, the present head of Vrindaban centre, Brahmachari Dharmachaitanya of Malda and several other swamijis and brahmacharins from Morhabadi also participated. Br. Dharmachaitanya (Bhola Maharaj of Malda) simply charmed the crowded gathering with his sonorous singing. Three times chandipatha was avidly done by Sri Nirjhar Bhattacharjee from Baguihati. Sri Sadananda Ganguly from Howrah led a dedicated group of devotees who helped in the performance of the elaborate Puja rituals. One of the leading idol- makers and a resident of Shantipur, West Bengal Sri Santosh Kumar Pal, prepared this image. For the last 46 years he has been making this beautiful image. Women devotess of Sarada Seva Sangha, Howrah and Sarada Kalyan of Rahara lent their dexterous helping hands in decoration.

Cash and kind.....

The credit for successful completion of the Divine Mother's worship largely goes to the Sanatorium’s employees, their family members as well as to the local people. The spontaneous participation of all concerned including the youth members of Vivekananda Clubs of Sanatoriun, Dungri and Oberia was a noteworthy aspect of the Puja. Swami Vimokshananda, the Secretary of the Sanatorium expresses his grateful thanks to and prayers for all those people from Ranchi and outside all over the country and abroad who contributed willingly in cash and kind.

Puja and the Patient...

It is pertinent that this memorable puja was indeed started by one in-patient of this Sanatorium in 1958. He was late Bhupati Bose from Howrah. It is said that he had a divine aadesh in dream one day for doing Devi Puja. The then Secretary Maharaj late Swami Vedantanandaji rejected his offer saying that doing Durga Puja in a hospital set up is not a joke. But Bhupati, distressed at the decision, prayed to the Mother and sought excuse for his inability to carry out Her wish. Who can eventually stop the Divine Will? He again dreamt of the Mother who said that there was one-day Puja also available! On hearing about the second dream, Vedantanandaji was ready to reconsider his decision and acceded to the patient's request for Jagaddhatri worship. Bhupati himself prepared the image beautifully for consecutive two years. The entire staff and all the in- patients stood together in completing the one-day Puja with great devotion.

more details.....

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