Once a devotee offered laddu to Lord Jagannath in the bhoga which was too hard to be eaten but the Supreme Lord ate that offering. There is a beautiful story behind this wonderful pastime. This pastime shows how Lord Jagannath lovingly deals with his devotees.
Devotee decides to cook a special laddu for Jagannath
Once a devotee desired to prepare laddu for Lord Jagannath using jaggery. This was the first time he was preparing such item. He thought everyday Lord is eating the same bhoga items, so, something different should be offered to the Lord. So, he prepared the laddu. And the laddu was offered to the Supreme Lord along with other bhoga items.
On that day during offering time, the king of Jagannath Puri came to take darshan of the Lord. So, after the darshan, the pujaris wanted to offer some prasad to the king. Now the king was busy that day so he thought let me take some light item with me. He saw the laddu and decided to take it with him.
Meanwhile the devotee who had prepared the laddu was looking for it. He thought that this is the first time I have prepared it and offered to the Lord, so, I want to taste it and see how it has come out. It will help me to improve the preparation. But the king had already taken that food item with him.
After taking darshan of the Lord, the king got busy with his other engagements. After completing his work, he sat down to take his meal. While eating his food, he remembered the laddu which he had taken from the temple. So, he requested that laddu be served to him. The laddu was served to the king.
King’s tooth creaks when he tries to eat laddu
But to the surprise of the king, the laddu was extremely hard. Not just that on the same morning the king had severe pain in one of his teeth. And the king by mistake had bitten the laddu with the same tooth. And because of it, his tooth came out. The king was in pain. He became extremely angry.
He immediately ordered that the person who has prepared this laddu should be put behind bars. King was furious because he thought that how can such a hard laddu be served to the Lord. As per the king’s order, the devotee cook who had prepared the laddu was put behind bars. The devotee was surprised that what was his crime. Later he came to know the reason behind his incarnation.
Jagannath appears in King’s dream
On the same night when the devotee cook was put behind bars the king saw a dream. In the dream, Lord Jagannath appeared, and he was chastising the king. The Lord said that how dare he put his devotee behind bars.
The Lord ordered the king to release the cook immediately. Not just that, Lord Jagannath also said that the king should seek forgiveness from the cook. The cook should be taken on a palanquin to his home and the king should sing the glories of the cook in front of others. The king did not have any problem in following the order of Lord Jagannath.
But the king had a question. He asked the lord, “My dear Lord, I tried eating the laddu but it was too hard. My tooth came out. So, how you are appreciating his offering and how you were able to eat his laddu?”
Lord Jagannath explains how he ate the laddu
The Lord smiled and said, “As soon as I saw the laddu I could understand that it is too difficult for me to eat it. So, I started thinking that which incarnation of mine can eat this laddu. Then I thought only my incarnation as Lord Narasimhadeva with his strong teeth can eat such a hard laddu. So, I ate the laddu as Lord Narasimhadeva. Since my devotee had prepared this laddu with such love, so how I could refuse it.”
The king within his heart understood that how Lord accepts the offering which is prepared with love.
But Lord Jagannath did not stop here. He further said to the king, “My desire is that from today onwards this particular laddu is prepared daily and served. And I as Narasimhadeva will eat it.”
The king happily agreed.
He came out of the dream and immediately ordered that the devotee cook be released. the king also sought forgiveness from the cook and he sent him back home on a palanquin. He glorified the cook in front of others. And also as per the order of Lord Jagannath, the king requested the devotee cook to prepare the laddu daily.
The cook was so happy to hear that in spite of the shortcomings, Lord Jagannath mercifully accepted his offering.
He agreed to prepare the laddu daily. And from that day onwards the laddu was served to the Lord daily. This special laddu came to be known as Narasimha laddu.
Lord only wants our love and nothing else
These pastimes of the Lord shows that the Lord is not hungry for the food items which we offer to him. But he actually sees with what intention we are offering things to him. How much love is there in it. Jagannath is the Lord of the universe; he does not need the food we offer to satisfy his hunger, but he needs our love. That is what he is hungry for.
Krishna makes it very clear in Bhagavad Gita 9.26 when he says, “If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, I will accept it.”
We are also hungry for the love of Lord but unfortunately, we do not realize this. And so, we suffer in this world. We try to satisfy ourselves through material means. But things of this world can never give us any satisfaction and any happiness. We will become happy and satisfied only when we offer our love to the Supreme Lord Jagannath.
The devotee prepared laddu with love and Lord Jagannath ate it as Lord Narasimhadeva. Similarly, if we offer anything to Lord with love then the Lord will surely accept it. And then our life will become perfect. We will be happy and satisfied.
Note: This pastime is based on the class given by HG Baladev Prabhu, a senior monk of Iskcon Chowpatty. He spoke this pastime during the first day of Kartik Yatra 2023 at Bhakti Vaibhav Puri Maharaj Matha at Sri Jagannath Puri Dham.
