Many many good wishes for Chandan Yatra, the most auspicious event of Akshay Tritiya. From Akshay Tritiya till the next 20 days, we celebrate this festival of Chandan Yatra. Applying and putting Chandan on Krishna is a part of Bhakti ( Devotional service).

The History Behind This Festival:

Lord Jagannath Ji ordered King Indrapradyuman that the Chandan Yatra festival should be celebrated. Lord Krishna also wants to play in the water and enjoy Chandan(sandalwood)coldness in hot summers. In Godiya Vaishnava society, about seven hundred years ago, the Deity of Sri Gopal came in the dream of Madhvendra puri and asked him to bring Chandan from Malaygiri and give him some soothing coldness of Chandan in hot summers. After this, Madhvendra Ji left for Jagannath puri by walking and came back with Chandan from there and applied it to the deity of Gopinath Ji. This application of Chandan to Diety is the way of expressing love for God. For twenty-one days, devotees apply Chandan to Diety and also donate Chandan.

Also Read:- Benefits of Ekadashi

Celebrating Love and Bhakti:

We all know that Krishna is not affected by heat, cold, hunger, or material misery. It was a way to show other people the love of his devotees and make them learn the path of devotion.

We cannot know Shri Krishna through our material senses, but only with love and devotion can we get to know him.

The devotees all come together and grind Chandan for the Lord in the temple, which greatly benefits sadhu-sanga and helps develop relationships within the devotee community.

Moreover, this is a way for the devotees to express their love for their lord, as the devotees, considering Krishna to be their dearest and closest friend, cannot tolerate the thought of him having to experience the scorching heat of the sun in the summer. They always want him to be comfortable and cared for.

Krishna has said in the Bhagavad-gita, “If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.”

Through this process of caring for the Lord and offering him all comforts, we will be eligible to offer our hearts in loving devotion to him one day.

So let’s celebrate this festival and apply Chandan to Krishna and get Krishna’s love and Bhakti to make our human birth successful.

Hare Krishna

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