Why Did a Kanchi Princess Sweep Jagannath Temple as Punishment?

Why Did a Kanchi Princess Sweep Jagannath Temple as Punishment?

Hey, what is this? Today in the royal palace of Puri, a sweeper girl is being seated on the royal throne and the king himself is placing the queen’s crown on her head. There was chaos in the entire state. Pandit angry, minister surprised. The Brahmin is angry because the girl is none other than Padmavati, the princess of Kanchi who came to Puri’s land to sweep the temple and is now becoming the queen. How did this happen? Why was the princess of Kanchi sweeping Puri and what was the role of Jagannath ji and Balabhadra ji themselves in this? Let’s go to the 15th-century Puri and witness this truly miraculous and heart-touching story. This is about the end of the 15th century. At that time Puri was ruled by Gajapati King Purushottam Dev, who was very religious and very brave. The most special thing is that the supreme devotee king of Jagannath ji was called Gajapati meaning lord of elephants, but he called himself servant of Jagannath. There was a special tradition of King Purushottam Dev. Every year when the Rath Yatra took place, he himself would sweep the path of the chariot with a golden broom in his hand. Yes, despite being a king, he said that my Lord’s chariot is leaving. There should be no dust on their feet, so I will clear the way myself. People of Puri are surprised to see the king. They say, wow, what kind of king is this, he sweeps himself, but it doesn’t make any difference to the king. For him, Jagannath was above all else. Now let’s talk about Kanchi. The Kanchi state was very big in South India and very rich. The king there was Salva Narasimha Dev. He had only one daughter, Princess Padmavati. Even the moon would hide in shame after seeing the beauty of Padmavati. Big eyes, long hair, and such softness on the face that the viewer just keeps looking at it. But the real beauty of Padmavati lay in her heart. She was very kind. She helps every poor person. She would share the pain of every sad person. One day King Purushottam Dev of Puri went on a trip to Kanchi. It was a political trip. But King Salva Narasimha Dev of Kanchi gave him a grand welcome. He gave a grand feast and during the feast he also introduced him to Padmavati. Purushottam Dev saw Padmavati and fell in love with her in an instant. Padmavati also saw the king. Padmavati was also fascinated by the glow and devotion in his eyes. Both the kings thought why not get these two married. The matter started getting finalized. Purushottam Dev gave his consent. Salva Narasimha Dev also bowed his head and said yes. There was a wave of happiness in both the states, and preparations for the wedding started, in Puri also, in Kanchi also. But then something happened that changed everything. Like every year, the time for Rath Yatra has come in Puri. King Purushottam Deva began to prepare for his chariot journey, and as usual, picked up the golden broom and began to sweep the path for the chariot. At the same time some Brahmins had come to Puri from Kanchi. One of them, the son of the royal priest of Kanchi, was watching the Rath Yatra of Puri. He saw King Purushottam Dev using a golden broom. Anger appeared on the Brahmin’s face. He said, what is this, a king is sweeping. This is the work of a Shudra and our princess is going to marry this king. This would be an insult to our princess. That Brahmin immediately returned to Kanchi. He reached the court of his king Salva Narasimha Dev. He said, Maharaj, you will not believe what I saw in Puri. Purushottam Dev, to whom you are going to marry your daughter, sweeps the floor. Yes, being a king himself, he does the work of a Shudra. Salva Narasimha Dev was surprised and said what? The Brahmin said, yes Maharaj, I myself saw that in front of thousands of people the king is a broom holder. How can we give our princess to a broom man? Salva Narasimha Deva became worried, heart-broken. He said if this is so then this marriage cannot happen. I will not give my daughter to a broom man. He immediately sent a messenger. The entire message was this marriage was cancelled. We will not marry our princess to a broomstick. When this message reached Puri, there was an uproar. King Purushottam Dev read the message. His face turned white. Tears came to my eyes. But there were no more tears, instead anger came in their place. He said, did Salva Narasimha insult my devotion? Serving my Lord Jagannath is called Shudra work. This is an insult to Jagannath and I will not tolerate the insult to Jagannath. The king immediately ordered the army to be prepared. He said, I will attack Kanchi, I will teach a lesson to Salva Narasimha and will capture Princess Padmavati, but Purushottam Dev did not go straight to the war. First he went to the temple and folded his hands in front of Jagannath ji and said, Lord, this war is not for me, it is for your honour. You gave me the service of sweeping. I did it with love but the world called it an insult. Now you tell me what should I do? At night, the king met Jagannath in his dream and said, Purushottam, you go and fight, but remember one thing, I and Balabhadra Dau will go with you, you will not be alone. The king said, Lord, you will go with me? Jagannath ji smiled and said, yes Purushottam, Salva Narasimha has insulted my broom, so I will come myself. The next day Purushottam Dev set out with his army, thousands of soldiers, elephants, horses, swords with full strength, but on the way, a wonderful thing happened. There was a small village on the way. There was a curd seller named Manika, who was very poor. He had a cow. She would earn her living by selling curd from that. That afternoon Manika went out of the village to sell curd. Then on the way two wonderful horsemen stopped in front of him. Both riders were amazing. A dark complexioned man with big eyes riding a black horse. The second horse is strong. On a white horse. There was a supernatural glow on the faces of both of them. The dark one said, Amma, I am very hungry, give me curd. Manika asked, son, do you have money? The dark one smiled and said, Amma, I don’t have money right now, but do one thing, keep this ring of mine, I will come later and give you the money. Manika saw the ring, it was made of gold, it had very precious diamonds embedded in it, she said, son, this is very precious. Who are you? The person in front said, Amma, I and my elder brother, both of us are going to Kanchi with the army of King Purushottam Dev. You just keep the ring and ask for it later. Manika said, hey son, how will I ask for my money from the king? He is a big man. The dark one said, just show me this ring. The king himself will give you the money. I promise for sure. Manika took the ring. Both the brothers had plenty of curd to their fill. Then he waved his hand and left. Manika asked in surprise, who were these two? They looked so cute and the ring was so precious, she tied the ring in her pouch. The war started there. When the army of Puri and the army of Kanchi faced each other, a wonderful thing happened on the battlefield. Two wonderful warriors came to the forefront before the army of Purushottam Dev. Dark on a black horse, fair on a white horse. The entire army of Kanchi wavered in front of the swords of both of them. Thousands of soldiers started falling in one stroke. Two warriors are equal to an entire army, not 10 armies. Salva Narasimha Dev was shocked to see this. He asked, who is this? This is not a human, this is a god. Within a few hours, the Kanchi army was defeated. Salva Narasimha Dev was captured. Princess Padmavati and the entire Kanchi kingdom came under the control of Purushottam Dev. Purushottam Dev found those two warriors after the war. But he was not found anywhere. Completely disappeared as if they never existed. The king asked the army, where did those two warriors go who were fighting in the front? The soldiers said, Maharaj, we also do not know. He was seen fighting and disappeared after winning. The king became suspicious. But now was not the time to think. He ordered Padmavati and Salva Narasimha Deva to be taken to Puri. On the way back, the army passed through the same village where Manika lived. Manika came running to the army. She said, Maharaj, I want to meet the king. The soldiers asked why? Manika took out the ring. She said, look, this ring was given to me by a young man. He told me to ask for money from the king. I need money for curd. The soldiers saw the ring. His eyes widened. This was the ring of the idol of Jagannath ji in the temple. Made of gold, studded with diamonds. The soldiers immediately called the king. Manika was brought before the king. The king asked Manika, Amma, who gave you this ring? Manika told everything. Two young men, one dark, one fair, ate curd and gave a ring. He said to ask for money from the king. The king took the ring in his hand. I looked carefully and understood everything in a jiffy. Tears flowed from her eyes. She said, O my Lord! Those two warriors were none other than you and Balabhadra. You both fought for me, for the king with a broom. The king fell to the ground. He folded his hands and said, Lord, I was not worthy of this. You raised your sword for me. He pawned Manika’s ring for the curd. All this for me. A gust of wind blew through the air, as if Jagannath was saying, Purushottam, you are my devotee. If not for you, then for whom will I fight? The king gave Manika the money for the curd and a whole cow’s worth of gold. He said, Amma, the Lord himself got the curd from your cow. You are the most blessed of all. Manika wept. She said, Maharaj, the two brothers were Jagannath and Balabhadra. The king nodded. Yes, Amma, you fed the Lord with curd. You are now the Lord’s mother. The village’s name has since changed to Manik Patna. Even today, this village is considered special during the Jagannath Rath Yatra from Puri, and a small temple stands there. The temple of Manika Mata. The king now moved on to Puri, but one task remained. Princess Padmavati, King Purushottam Deva’s heart was still filled with anger. He thought, Salva Narasimha called my sweeping a Shudra’s work, so what will I make of his daughter? Not a queen. I will marry her to a sweeper to teach Kanchi a lesson. Reaching Puri, the king ordered, Princess Padmavati will be married to a man from the lowest caste in my kingdom. Remove her from the palace. Make her a sweeper. The minister was shocked, but he had to obey. Padmavati was stripped of her royal robes and dressed in ordinary clothes. A broom was handed to her and she was told to sweep the temple. Padmavati didn’t say a word. Shed no tears; she simply picked up the broom and silently walked towards the Puri temple. Upon reaching the temple, Padmavati saw the idol of Lord Jagannath and cried for the first time. She said, Lord, Lord, I was a princess, and today I have become a sweeper. But I am not sad because I have the opportunity to come here to you. I have the opportunity to serve in your temple. This is my good fortune. Padmavati picked up the broom. The temple courtyard began to be swept. She did it. With great love and care, each corner, as if she was making a path for the Lord’s feet. The Pandit was astonished. A princess was sweeping. Days passed, without complaint, without anger, just smiling. Padmavati swept every day. Every day she visited the Lord. Every day she cleaned the temple with her own hands, and every day she returned to her little hut. Meanwhile, in the temple, Jagannath Ji was watching. Balabhadra Ji asked, What happened? Why are you sad to see Padmavati? Jagannath Ji said, Dau Dada, she was a princess, and my devotee wronged her. There was a fight for my love. But in that fight, an innocent girl’s life was ruined. Balabhadra Ji said, So what will you do? Jagannath Ji smiled. Yes Dau Dada, I will teach my Purushottam a lesson. Subhadra Ji asked, What will you do, brother? Jagannath Ji said, Sister, wait for the next Rath Yatra. Time passed, and finally, the day of the Rath Yatra arrived. Celebrations filled the whole of Puri with drums and cymbals. King Purushottam Dev came with a golden broom as usual to sweep the path for the chariot. But today when he reached there, he saw that the path was already clean. It was shining brightly. The king asked the priest who cleaned this path? The priest said, Your Majesty, a girl comes every morning. She sweeps the entire temple. She has been busy since morning today also. The king asked, who is this girl? The priest smiled. Your Majesty, you should see for yourself. The priest pointed towards a girl who was sweeping in a far corner. She was wearing simple clothes, her hair was tied, sweat on her face but a smile. The king looked carefully and recognized her instantly. This is Padmavati. The king was shocked. He said, This, this is the same princess whom I had made the sweeper. At that very moment the king understood everything. He thought in his mind, I made her a sweeper and now she is sweeping the Lord’s temple. But wait, I always sweep myself. If I do not consider my service as Shudra work then how can his service be Shudra work? She is doing the same service that I do. So she showed greater devotion than me. He folded his hands and said, O Lord, I was blind. I punished a princess. But you gave her the greatest honor of your service. The king felt as if Jagannath ji was saying, Purushottam, you sweep. Your wife will also sweep. There will be only two of them serving me. Then I will see who is more devoted. The king laughed and cried at the same time. The king got up and went to Padmavati. He folded his hands. He said, Goddess, please forgive me. Padmavati raised her head. Saw the king. There was no complaint in his eyes. Shanti then said, Maharaj, whose forgiveness? You have given me the greatest blessing of serving the Lord. The king cried. He said, Goddess, today I understood who is a true devotee. You are a greater devotee than me. You did not insult my service. You adopted him and the smiling king immediately gave the order. He said, from today Padmavati is my queen and along with being my queen, she is also my inspiration. Padmavati was brought to the palace. He was again dressed in royal clothes. The crown was placed on the head. But Padmavati put a condition. She said, Maharaj, I will become a queen but I will never give up one thing. I will also sweep with you during the Rath Yatra. Together we will clear the path of the Lord. The king laughed, wiped his tears and said, Goddess, this is my biggest happiness. The wedding was very grand. It was completely illuminated. Salva Narasimha Deva also came from Kanchi. But now he was a different man. He himself came and touched the feet of Purushottam Dev. He said, son-in-law, please forgive me. I had insulted your devotion. I understood. Sweeping is not the work of a Shudra, it is the work of a servant of God. Purushottam Dev hugged his father-in-law. Dad said there’s no need to apologize. We all are devotees of God. The Lord made everything alright. And Purushottam Deva returned the Kanchi kingdom to Salva Narasimha Deva. He said, father, this is your kingdom. I won just to teach a lesson. Now take it back. Salva Narasimha Dev said in surprise, son-in-law, you are leaving the kingdom you have won. Purushottam Dev said, father, I do not want the kingdom. I wanted Jagannath and Jagannath gave me Padmavati. What else do I need? Meanwhile, in the temple, Balabhadra said to Jagannath, Wow, your plan worked. Jagannath ji said, Dau Dada, this was not a plan. This was love. Padmavati served me with love. Purushottam already did it with love. I just had to combine the two. Subhadra ji asked brother, but what was the need to go to war? You both became warriors. Jagannath ji said a very lovely thing. He said, sister, when my devotee fights for me, I also fight for him. This is the rule. If Purushottam raised his sword for my honour, how could I stay behind. Lakshmi ji said laughingly and Manika, the ring you gave to the curd seller was my ring. Jagannath ji made an innocent face and said Devi that ring was mine and not yours. Lakshmi ji narrowed her eyes and said ok the one I gave you at the wedding became yours. Balabhadra ji started laughing and now you are trapped. Jagannath ji immediately said Devi, I made a mistake, it was your ring, I just gave it to you at that time because there was no other way. Lakshmi ji smiled. Well, sorry about that poor mother. But ask next time. That very night Padmavati was sitting with her husband in the palace. The king said to Padmavati, Devi, tell me one thing, when I gave you the broom, you did not get angry at me. Padmavati smiled. She said, Maharaj, my mother had taught me one thing. What did she say? Whatever work God does, consider it as God’s play. Don’t mind. Let us just play our role. The king held Padmavati’s hand. He said, Goddess, you are a greater devotee than me. I sweep on orders. You were forced to sweep by your own wish but because of my anger. Yet you did it with love. This is real devotion. Padmavati said, Maharaj, now both of us will participate together in every Rath Yatra. And this is what happened. Every year Purushottam Dev and Queen Padmavati would take up the golden broom and sweep the path of the chariot. Both the king and queen together along with the entire crowd would clap seeing them. Even children would come forward to lend a hand, and old people would wipe away tears. This tradition continued for many generations. Even today, Gajapati Maharaj of Puri keeps the Chera Panah during the Rath Yatra. Meaning, the path of the chariot is swept with a golden broom. This tradition started with Purushottam Dev and Padmavati and an old story is still narrated in Manikpatna. How a poor curd seller fed curd to God and God gave her a ring. The temple of Manika Mata is still there. But the biggest story is that of Padmavati. A princess who became a sweeper, then became a queen and even after becoming a queen, she continued sweeping. What did Jagannath ji teach us? First, any work done for God is never small. Be it a king or a queen, sweeping is also a service and there is no difference between Shudra and Brahmin in service. Secondly, when we fight for God’s honor, God himself comes with us. Pick up the sword. Let’s fight for our victory. Thirdly, sometimes God comes in the simplest form. Sometimes as a sweeper, sometimes as a child asking for curd. You just need the eye to recognize them. And fourthly, a true devotee is not one who complains. A true devotee is one who smiles in every situation. Be it a princess or a broom-wielding lady. This is what Padmavati taught us. If there is any insult, any sorrow, any test in your life today, then remember Padmavati. She picked up the broom and smiled. She turned insult into respect. She turned punishment into service and eventually became queen. This can happen in your life too. Just have faith in Jagannath ji. If you liked this true story, then do write Jai Jagannath, Jai Balabhadra and Jai Rani Padmavati in the comments and do not forget to like, share and subscribe to the channel for such inspirational stories. We will meet again in the next story with another miraculous saga. Hail Jagannath. Hail Jagannath. Jai Mahaprabhu.