Dakshin Puri - Lord Jagannath in Chennai

Published in "Swagat" formerly, inflight magazine of Indian Airlines


Lord of Puri in Chennai … Dakshin Puri

Jagannath, the Lord of Puri is having his own pristine abode on the seashore of Chennai, away from the bustle of the metro. Unlike the Mool Jagannath complex at Puri that is on the city’s Grand Trunk road which is veritably a beehive of activity, Dakshinkshetra or Dakshin Puri, at Kannathur Reddy Kuppam village off New Mahabalipuram Road, 25 km from Chennai, is tranquility personified. This is the most striking aspect of the complex at Chennai for those who have visited the Lord at Puri also.

The Shrine complex is set on one acre of land in the midst of abundant greenery and colour from a variety of blossoms. The fragrance from the flower beds and the quiet environs lend a meditative and spiritual mood even to those who come here to drink in the sheer ambience of the place, rather than as devotees of the Lord. True to its ambience, the doors of the temple and its precincts are open to all, irrespective of caste, creed, class, colour, religion or nationality. A marble floored meditation centre right below the sanctum sanctorum, emphasizes this aspect of this unique place of worship. One does not have to believe in rituals to enjoy the peace that one is compelled to feel here.

A set of 22 steps that is part of the lofty granite structure dedicated to Lord Jagannath, takes you to the main sanctum where the Lord, along with his siblings, stands majestically. The idols of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, Subhadra, Sudarshan and Madhav have been crafted by the same temple artisans who created the Puri deities. Another special feature of these idols, we are told, is that they are all made from the same neem tree as are the Puri deities. Also, the flag that is hoisted atop the main temple tower comes from Puri after being hoisted atop the Mool Jagannath temple there.

Besides the main shrine of Jagannath, individual temples for Ganesh, Kashi Vishwanath, Maa Vimla Devi, Lakshmi Devi and the Navagrahas have been built to encompass the four corners of the lush grounds. A lotus shaped water tank in white and the Yajna Mandap add to the beauty of the verdant sprawl. An interesting incident relates to the building and installation of the Ganesh idol in the temple premises. The construction of the temple in its initial phase was fraught with hurdles. After much thinking the trustees of the temple complex felt that these hitches were due to non-compliance of the conventional tradition of beginning any auspicious work with due respects to Lord Ganesh or Vigneshwara, the remover of obstacles. Even as they were wondering as to how and from where to obtain an idol of Ganesh to install in the temple complex, the very next day, they were presented with a Ganesh idol from Kanchipuram by Mahaswami Jagatguru Sri Chandrasekara Saraswati of the Kanchi Math! Today, two idols of Ganesh reside together at the temple built for him.

The trend of the times is fusion in everything – from clothes to movies, music, dance and all else artistic. This is evident even at this Dakshinkshetra. The temple architecture made from granite brought from Kanchipuram, is an aesthetic blend, a unique synthesis of the Oriyan and Tamil styles. While the main tower or shikhar resembles that of Puri, its surrounding walls reveal icons representative of South Indian architectural style. Pata Chitras one of Orissa’s best traditional paintings, come alive on the walls and ceilings in the area immediately outside the sanctum sanctorum. One of the Oriyan devotees later explained to us that these paintings themselves were miraculously executed to completion by a couple of hearing & speech impaired brothers, only days before the Mahakumbhabisheka which was held on 29th January 2001. Since then, the Rath Yatra, very similar to the original at Puri, has become part of the annual festivities; the chariots though, are not three separate ones but a single one in which all the three siblings travel out on the occasion.

Visitors and devotees to the Jagannath temple are particularly attracted to the miracle tree, the Kalpataru, believed to be wish-fulfilling. There are no two thoughts about this wondrous or magical tree: it is indeed a single trunk that is sprouting the branches of 3 different trees – the peepal, neem & banyan! And why not, for each one of these trees is venerated by the Hindus, believed to be symbolic of the triad of deities: Creator (Brahma), Preserver (Vishnu) and Destroyer (Shiva) in that order. At the base of the tree, one gets to see the several vehicles of the Gods, sculpted from clay and stone. At the base of the tree, one gets to see the several vehicles of the Gods, sculpted from clay and stone. Devotees flock to the tree believing that if they hug the tree with both hands such that the fingers meet in embrace, their wishes would be fulfilled!

The temple which is run by Trustees is built as a spiritual complex to promote the oneness of mankind and thereby a healthy society. The Trust, believing in the dictum manav seva is Madhav seva, is involved in activities that range from conducting health camps, yoga camps, poor feeding, satsangs and cultural activities.

In due course, a spiritual audio-video library, a library of books on the cultural and spiritual, a Vedic Research Institute, it is claimed would become part of the temple complex. Unlike in other temple environs in most regions of India, Dakshin Puri has not yet been invaded by vendors and pavement hawkers peddling their wares. The atmosphere remains virgin and peaceful – just the right ambience to pray, to worship, to meditate.


Factfile:
Reaching Dakshin Puri: 25 km from Chennai. A number of buses ply on the route. From the main New Mahabalipuram road, the temple complex is about 1 km inside, towards the beach. Car hires are available in plenty throughout Chennai. About half a kilometer before Kannathur village, toll booth appears where a charge of Rs.25 is in order for cars.

Surroundings: Various attractions including the VGP Golden Beach Resort, Crocodile Farm, MGM World and other tourist resorts line this route. One may ideally begin the day visiting the temple in the early hours of the morning – 6:30 a.m is opening time and then proceed to these spots on a picnic.