Shri Haridas ji Maharaj, a Vaishnav Mahatma of Vrindavan,
one day observed that Lord Shri Krishna appeared before him and told him that
in the month of Ashad the existing Vigrahas (idols of Shri Jagannath ji, Shri
Balram ji and Subhadra Devi) will be replaced by new ones. Lord ordered him to
bring the old Vigrahas to Vrindavan. Mahatma Haridas ji went to Puri on foot
with his disciples. After every thirty-six years old Vigrahas are replaced by
new ones at the time of Ratha Yatar. Haridas ji reached Puri four days before
Rath Yatra. He requested priest of the temple to hand over the old Vigrahas to
him as desired by Lord Krishna himself. The priest asked him to see the King of
Puri, Maharaja Pratap Rudra, for this. The king also refused as he could not
break the tradition of immersing the old Vigrahas in ocean. Mahatma Haridas ji
thought that if he was unable to carry out the orders of his Lord it was better
to die. He went to sea-shore and soon entered deep meditation. In
mid-night
Lord Jagannath ji ordered the King in a dream to hand over the old Vigrahas to
mahatma Haridas ji as Lord Krishna wanted to live both in Puri and Vrindavan.
The king gave old Vigrahas to Mahatma Haridas ji. He along with his discliples
brought the vigrahas in a chariot to Vrindavan. On the banks of sacred river
Yamuna, the place where Lord Krishna appeared before Haridas ji, which is now
called Jagannath Ghat, a temple was constructed. Vigrahas were placed and
worshipped. This is now known as Shri Jagannath Mandir. It is one of the most
famous and old temples of Vrindavan. Same Vigrahas are still in this temple.
The atmosphere of the temple is very peaceful and serene. One automatically
feels like performing bhajana-kirtan etc in the temple premises. The special feature
of this temple is that it is open to devotees of all castes, creed and
religions, whereas the entry in Jagannath temple in Puri is restricted to
Hindus only. One gets same blessings of the Lord by visiting temples of Puri
and Vrindavan. Lord Jagannath ji is the Lord of the Universe in Kaliyug.
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