The composer of this apparently simple and appealing hymn asking Jagannath (Lord of the universe) to make Himself visible on the path of his vision is Bhagavatpada Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya. It was he who fixed Lord Jagannath's temple at Puri as one of the four dhams (char dham) or holy places which every Hindu must visit during his lifetime: Start at Dwaraka in the west, continue to Puri in the east and then to Badrinath in the north and finally to Rameshwaram in the south. A pilgrim doing this char dham yatra is supposed to carry the waters of Alakananda (+ Ganga) to Rameshwaram. Abhishek must then be performed of Lord Shiva in the form of the lingam made and worshipped by Lord Rama.
In this hymn, the Jagadguru positions himself as a devotee (as in other hymns) in the second line of every verse in which he makes this request to the Lord.
However, nowhere in this hymn is the devotee's efforts or qualities mentioned. Neither is there the helplessness seen in Bhavaniashtakam (http://www.youtube.com/user/toyam108#p/u/14/SxkCItXwzEM) or the intense longing in Gopi Geet (http://www.youtube.com/user/toyam108#p/u/15/5MbF7fguuDM) or the infectious enthusiasm of the Suvarnamalastuti (http://www.youtube.com/user/toyam108#p/u/12/thhfhYxsMy0). Nor does he ask the Lord to save him as in Achyutashtakam (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7ZCF6Us0Yo) or give him anything for example, forgiveness in the Shiva Manasa Pooja (http://www.youtube.com/user/toyam108#p/u/21/DRoC1VwFp8I). Never is the purpose of the audience sought revealed.
The mood of the hymn displays such confidence in the love the Lord has for the devotee that even though the Lord is Achalam (unmoving), the request is made repeatedly. The Kanakadharastotram, composed by him before he left home to find his guru, has a similar mood of confidence. There are no words indicative of humility in the devotee singing the hymn, except for the repeated request.
Sri Krishna Chaitanya (thumbnail and last picture) sang this hymn daily, during the 18 years he spent at Puri. This mystic saint made Orissa and Bengal (undivided) dance with him in sankirtan most of his adult life. His call was answered when he merged into the deity of Sri Jagannath at Puri, at the age of forty-eight.
Sri Krishna Chaitanya's influence was taken beyond the shores of India lately by the Gaudiya Vaishnavas, a group of which is the ISKCON, better known as the 'Hare Krishnas'. The Bauls of Bengal (protected group of wandering mendicants living unconventionally) consider Sri Krishna Chaitanya and his brother-like friend, Sri Nityananda to be their ideals. Sri Nityananda was referred to as Avadhoot by Sri Krishna Chaitanya. To know more about Avadhoot, see Srimad Bhagvatam, eleventh skanda, chapters 7-9. This skanda also has Lord Krishna's last instructions known as Uddhava Gita.
Sri Krishna Chaitanya's only composition is the Sri Shikshashtakam. This later hymn has one verse very similar to a verse in Jagannathashtakam in content, style and position. This is the only one in negation in both the hymns, pointing out to the Lord that he is not seeking any worldly benefit such as wealth, kingdom or a wife, but the Lord Himself.
The Jagannathashtakam hymn is a study on the relationship between the Lord and His devotee. The directness is elegantly offset by its indirectness everywhere.
For example, the helplessness, the effort, the intense longing, the humility and the position of the devotee are all in the repeated words of each verse: jagannathaswami nayanapathgami bhavatu me.
Both words, 'natha' and 'swami' mean 'master/lord'. Why are they used together in the last line of each verse? Herein lies the key to this hymn. To know more, reflect upon the words at: http://www.swamij.com/what-is-a-swami.htm
Another example: the devotee knows exactly where the Lord is, what He does, whom He meets, how and why. Yet, the devotee can do nothing else but call out from the depths of his existence. The response of the Lord is never doubted and depends completely on the sincereity of the call, not rocket science. This space mission is about inner space. The response of the Lord makes the call true.
The complete hymn in devnaagri script and english translation is found at:
http://www.stutimandal.com/new/poemgen.php?id=134
and an english transliteration with an alternative translation, at:
http://www.harekrsna.de/jagannathastakam-e.htm
To understand Sanskrit better, visit: http://sanskritdocuments.org/learning_tools/learning_tools.html#SECTION0000100
All of Adi Shankaracharya's works (in Sanskrit) are available at: http://www.samatabooks.com/
For more about Lord Jagannath, visit: http://www.jagannath.nic.in/
For more about Sri Krishna Chaitanya, visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaitanya_Charitamrita
More on Bauls at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baul
The pictures are random downloads from the web, many from http://www.krishna.com/
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nice post. nice s\try lady.
sangharam 1 year ago
@toyam108
When the mind, with its attachment for sense-objects annihilated, is
fully controlled within the heart and thus realises its own essence, then
that Supreme State (is gained).-Amrita Bindu Upanishad
greatProphet1 1 year ago
@toyam108
The mind should be controlled to that extent in which it gets merged
in the heart. This is Jnana (realisation) and this is Dhyana (meditation)
also, all else is argumentation and verbiage.-Amrita Bindu Upanishad
greatProphet1 1 year ago
@greatProphet1 to know more about the forms of the Ultimate, please refer to Nirguna Manasa pooja
toyam108 1 year ago
@greatProphet1 In Sri Govindashtakam, Govinda is referred to as Shaiva. Just as the Mahabharata's beautiful Shiva Sahasranama is spoken by Krishna.
toyam108 1 year ago
@greatProphet1 this verse has a resonance, in contents and form, in Sri Krishna Chaitanya's only composition: the Shikshashtakam, also in negative framing.
toyam108 1 year ago
@toyam108
gurustvam sivastvam ca saktistvameva
tvamevási mátá pitá tvameva
tvamevási vidyá tvamevási bandhur-
gatirme matir devi sarvam tvameva(14)
Oh! Goddess! You are my preceptor. You are Lord siva. You are the sakti. You are my mother and father. You are the knowledge. You are my kith and kin. You are my only refuge, thinking and indeed all in all.
greatProphet1 1 year ago
@toyam108
gaïeùábhi-mukhyákhilaiç ùaktibøndair-
vøtám vai sphuraccakra-rájollasantim
parám rájarájeùvari traipuri tvám
ùiváñkoparisthám ùivám bhávayámi(11)
I contemplate on you Oh! Rájarájävarè! Traipurè, who are seated on the lap of Lord Shiva. You are the highest, are shining in the radiant cakra and are surrounded by all groups of Saktis led by Lord Ganesha
.
greatProphet1 1 year ago
@greatProphet1 similarly, refer to Bhavaniashtakam, you will find a verse in which the devotee is saying he does not know anyone, including Shiva. Such a method, to highlight one specific form to which the other forms are paying obeisance, is also employed in the Puranas, not just stotrams. Please read carefully 'Voice of Sankara' on kamakoti.org to appreciate why this is done.
toyam108 1 year ago
@greatProphet1 It is possible. On the web itself, such mix-ups are seen often. That is why i do my best to ensure the correctness of the descriptions of the videos to the extent it is possible.
toyam108 1 year ago