Śrīla Vyāsadeva has explained the glories of Keśava-vrata in the Mārkaṇḍeya-purāṇa. Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi had the benediction that he would live for seven kalpas (days of Lord Brahmā). When the Earth at the end of one day of Lord Brahmā was struck by pralaya (dissolution), Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi found himself floating endlessly in the raging waters of dissolution. At that time, he suddenly saw Bāla-Gopāla floating on a leaf of a banyan tree, sucking His toe. Looking at Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi, Bāla-Gopāla smiled.
The first incarnation of Keśavadeva was Matsyāvatāra. Matsyāvatāra disappeared after seeing Bāla-Gopāla.
After having this darśana of Bāla-Gopāla floating on a banyan leaf, Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi floated across the raging waters till he reached the bank of the ocean at the Lord’s dhāma. There, he saw a great banyan tree, also known as Akṣaya-vaṭa, and he again met with Bāla-Gopāla.
During the time of the universal dissolution, Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi could not see anything, but now he saw the entire world gradually unfold. The world resembled a Śālagrāma. The Lord said, “The world is present inside of Me, in My form as Bāla-Gopāla, and the world also finds its shelter in My universal form.” The Lord has shown His Viśvarūpa, or universal form, several times to His associates—He displayed it to Yaśodā Mātā and Arjuna.
All the ten incarnations are included within Keśavadeva. Keśava is everything, yet He became a small Śālagrāma. He told Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi, “Oh Ṛṣi, you will have darśana of all My svarūpas (forms) in this Śālagrāma. I Myself am always present on the Kṣīra-sāgara—even at the time of the universal devastation.” Finally, the Lord told Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi to take shelter of the Akṣaya-vaṭa tree during the universal devastation.
In Vraja-līlā we see that Mother Yaśodā worshiped a Śālagrāma-śilā her entire life. One day, while bitterly weeping, Kṛṣṇa told His mother, “I am not Your son.”
“Why not? You are obviously my son.”
“No. I am not your son! Your complexion is not blackish and My father and Baladeva Prabhu have golden complexions. All the Vrajavāsīs are golden complexioned, but I am black. Why am I black? Dāū, Śrīdāmā, Sudāma, and all the other sakhās are always teasing Me. They say, ‘On a dark moon night, someone kept You in the hole of the trunk of a banyan tree, and the next morning, Nanda Bābā saw many crows and eagles circling that banyan tree, looking at You. They saw how ugly and dirty You were. But Nanda Bābā rescued You and took You on his lap. Hiding You under a cloth, He then gave You to Mother Yaśodā as a gift.’ ”
Yaśodā Mātā said, “No. This is not true.”
“This is true!”
“No.”
“But everyone says this.”
“Who says this?”
“Dāū-bhaiyā also says this.”
“Then You should call Dāū here.”
Yaśodā asked Baladeva, “Baladāū, are You saying this to Kṛṣṇa?”
“No.”
Kṛṣṇa intervened and said, “Then how is Dāū golden while I am black? Aren’t We brothers?”
“Dāū is Your brother.”
“Then why is He golden while I am black?”
Yaśodā Mātā said, “I have worshiped the Śālagrāma my entire life. Before You, I had no children; neither did I desire any children. I only desire to serve the ṛṣis, munis, brahmarṣis, and tapasvīs. I want to serve all the Vrajavāsīs. But my father-in-law and mother-in-law (Parjanya and Varīyasī) performed many austerities for Nanda Bābā. They would often think, ‘Our Nanda’s house is empty. We will become so happy if a son appears in his home.’
“Therefore, they did a putresti-yajña. During the performance of the yajña, I told Śālagrāma, ‘Prabhu, I will lose Your service if a son is born to me. I never desire to be deprived of Your service. Please don’t give me any children, for then my love will be divided. I have been suffering since many lives already. Please appear as Your own self.’
“Lord Śālagrāma then came Himself. Kṛṣṇa, Your face is dark like my Śālagrāma.”
On seeing Govindadeva, Gopīnātha, Madana-mohana, and Rādhā-ramaṇa, you will see how Their faces bear a striking resemblance to a Śālagrāma. Their faces are round like a Śālagrāma.
Thus, Yaśodā Mātā told Kṛṣṇa, “You are my Śālagrāma; You are my heart. Therefore, I will lose my faith if Your color changes from black to golden. You are my Lord.”
Baladeva Prabhu said, “Am I not your son as well? Don’t you have any love for Me?”
Kṛṣṇa said, “I will only consider You as My mother’s son if You are also black like Me. Otherwise, You are no longer My brother.”
So what did Baladeva Prabhu do? He started praying, and as a result, Baladeva Prabhu became black, just like Kṛṣṇa. We see Baladeva like this at Nandagrāma. He no longer had a golden complexion. When you go to Nandagrāma, you will see that Kṛṣṇa and Baladeva are both dark complexioned. Even Dāūjī is black in color.
Seeing Baladeva Prabhu bearing His complexion, Kṛṣṇa remarked, “Now You are really My brother. Before, You were Mahā-saṅkarṣaṇa, Devakī-nandana, and Rohini-nandana. Now You are Yaśodā-nandana.”
After performing austerities, Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi first had darśana of the Lord’s form as Madana-gopāla, and after that, he had darśana of Śālagrāma. Keśavadeva manifests His svarūpa from the Śālagrāma. Next, Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi saw how the universe, with everything in it, had the shape of a Śālagrāma as well, and from that universe, Jagannātha manifested. When you look closely at the Deity of Lord Jagannātha, you will see how He, also, resembles the form of a Śālagrāma. His eyes resemble Śālagrāmas; His face resembles a Śālagrāma; His entire body resembles a Śālagrāma. Therefore, the Śruti says:
apāṇi-pādo javano grahītā
Svetāśvatara Upaniṣad 3.19
Although He does not have material senses, such as hands and feet, He accepts, moves, and sees everything.
Jagannātha manifested Himself as a Śālagrāma, as did Baladeva Prabhu. But Subhadrā-devī didn’t manifest herself as a Śālagrāma. Jagannātha is very heavy. He is not made of mere wood; He is Parabrahma. During the Nava-kalevara Deity installation, the Pandas place a Śālagrāma inside the new Deity of Jagannātha, and after this He is called Parabrahma.
Without this Śālagrāma, Jagannātha is not manifest. The old Jagannātha Deity, now without this Śālagrāma, is then given samādhi. When the Deities of Rādhā, Kṛṣṇa, Rāma, or Viṣṇu are established, first the Śālagrāma is touched to the Deities, and after the chanting of mantras, the Deities are installed. This is the rule and custom. Parabrahma will not manifest Himself in a Deity that has not been touched by a Śālagrāma-śilā.
Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi said, “Prabhu, You have many svarūpas. I desire to have darśana of them.”
Keśava then showed each of His svarūpas to the ṛṣi. Jayadeva Gosvāmī has glorified Keśavadeva’s svarūpas.
pralaya-payodhi-jale dhṛtavān asi vedaṁ
vihita-vahitra-caritram akhedam
keśava! dhṛta-mīna-śarīra! jaya jagadīśa! hare
Daśāvatāra-stotram 1
O Keśava! O You who assume the form of a fish! O Jagadīśa! O You who remove Your devotees’ tribulations! All glories to You, because in the waters of the universal dissolution You killed the demon Hayagriva and rescued the Vedas. You took on a form resembling a boat and easily kept Satyavrata Ṛṣi and the seven principal sages afloat.
After the pralaya, Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi was present with all the other ṛṣis. He was very happy. Why? Keśavadeva showed him His ten svarūpas. The essence of all these svarūpas is Keśava. Lord Brahmā has prayed to Keśavadeva with many prayers, such as:
īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ
anādir ādir govindaḥ sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam
Brahma-saṁhitā 5.1
The Supreme Lord, the embodiment of truth, consciousness, and joy, is Śrī Govinda. He is without beginning or end. He is the origin of all that be, and the Cause of all causes.
cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa-
lakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam
lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama-sevyamānaṁ
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
Brahma-saṁhitā 5.29
The transcendental realm is eternally adorned by millions of wish-fulfilling trees, by pavilions made of desire-fulfilling jewels, and by innumerable wish-fulfilling cows. There, thousands upon thousands of Lakṣmīs, or gopīs, are rendering services to the Supreme Personality with great affection. I worship that original Supreme Personality, Śrī Govinda.
Śiva Ṭhākura also came with Brahmā. Śiva Ṭhākura, as Lokanātha Mahādeva, offered many stava-stutis in glorification of Keśavadeva.
Indra, Varuṇa, Candra, and all the other gods and goddesses also came. They told the Lord, “Prabhu, You are always present on Kṣīra-sāgara, but You never show Your svarūpa to anybody. Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi is very lucky. He had darśana of all Your svarūpas. He had darśana of all Your incarnations. You are present in all species. You reside as a fish in Vaikuṇṭha. You also reside as a tortoise (kurma-svarūpa). This Kṣīra-sāgara is a permanent place of Your residence.”
Vaikuṇṭha is above the milk ocean, Kṣīra-sāgara. Śvetadvīpa and Goloka-Vṛndāvana are above the Vaikuṇṭha planets, which include Nārāyaṇa-loka and Ayodhyā. Jagannātha Purī is situated just below Gokoka-Vṛndāvana. In Jagannātha Purī, the area of Ṭoṭā-Gopīnātha, Siddha-bakula, and the Gambhīrā are comparable to the area of Vraja.
Lord Jagannātha is not Dvārakādhīśa or Mathurādhīśa. He is Vrajeśa Kṛṣṇa in separation from the gopīs. He manifested His eternal svarūpa from Goloka-Vṛndāvana. He came along with His brother, Baladeva, and sister, Subhadrā.
Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi prayed to the Lord and said, “Prabhu, I never want to leave this place. I always wish to remain by Your side. Please give me a place near Your lotus feet.” All the other ṛṣis, the Pañca-pāṇḍavas, also prayed similarly, “O Lord! We want to stay with you. There is asat-saṅga everywhere else.”
So, Keśavadeva first gave darśana to Mārkaṇḍeya Ṛṣi after the universal dissolution during this month. He also gave darśana to all the other ṛṣis-maharṣis. The observance of this vrata started from Jagannātha Purī during this month of Vaiśākha.
[CC-by-NDNC Bhakta Bandhav]