An essential and distinctive ceremony of Jagannath culture is Hera Panchami. The festival is observed at the Gundicha temple on the fifth day after the Rath Yatra‘s beginning. The words “Hera” and “Panchami” both refer to seeing.
This ceremony honors the goddess Mahalakshmi. This ceremony emphasizes Mahalaxmi’s separation from Lord Jagannath.
On this day, the Nandighosha chariot, which is parked in front of the Gundicha Temple, is broken in half by Goddess Lakshmi.
According to temple history, the Hera Panchami celebration was observed in this way during the reign of King Kapilendra Deb. Hera Panchami was once observed solely through the recital of Vedic mantras in a symbolic manner. The Madala Panji also mentions King Kapilendra Deb as the person who altered this process by bringing a gold idol of Mahalaxmi, turning the entire holy activity into an ordered and practical ritual.
What is the story of Hera Panchami?
The Gundicha Temple hosts a special event called Hera Panchami. Hera denotes seeing, while Panchami denotes the fifth day. Goddess Lakshmi feels greatly concerned on the fifth day of the Rathayatra Festival and considers, “What happened to my husband? He said, “I’m going to get a change of scenery for a few days, and I’ll be back very soon.” He hasn’t returned despite the passage of five days.” Because her spouse forgot to take her, she seems nervous. After four exhausting nights, Goddess Lakshmi starts to lose her cheer. On the fifth day, she visits the Gundicha Temple to see Lord Jagannath.
With a bang, the main doors of the Gundicha temple are abruptly shut. She sneaks back to the main temple via Hera Gohri Sahi after returning with a heavy heart and breaking a little portion of the Nandighosa chariot (the chariot of Lord Jagannath) in a fit of rage. All of this is done to discipline her devoted husband.
Celebration of Hera Panchami
The great festival of Hera Panchami is held on the fifth day after Rath Yatra. Lord Jagannath departs the temple in Jagannath Puri (representing Dwarka) on the day of the Rath Yatra and travels to the Gundica temple (representing Vrindavan).
Before departing, Sri Jagannathji gave his wife Lakshmiji a final vow that He would return the following day. But the fifth day has passed with no word regarding Sri Jagannathji. So Lakshmiji summons her servants and gathers an army to bring Lord Jagannath back. She makes a big display and pompous entrance to the Gundica shrine. When they arrive at the temple, they begin beating and seizing Lord Jagannath’s slaves before forcing them to commit to returning to him as soon as possible, preferably the following day.
The Nandigosh cart, the Ratha of Lord Jagannath (which transported Lord Jagannath to the Gundica shrine), is attacked by Mother Lakshmi’s slaves as they return from the temple, and a small piece of the cart is broken off for them to capture.
It is a charming tradition that is observed annually in Jagannath Puri. Regrettably, we cannot completely enjoy Rath Yatra by holding such events, which enhance the delicious flavor of Rath Yatra, due to work pressures and the nature of our living here. I fervently hope that the time will come when we can observe Gundica Marjan the day before Rath Yatra and the Hera Panchami celebration. However, I’m not sure if we want to bring Lord Jagannath back to Dwarka from Vrindavan so he can enjoy himself with his devoted Vrajvasis.
Sri Caitanya Caritamrta
Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu performed several pastimes in the garden beside the road leading from the Jagannatha shrine to Gundica. The Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s bathing ceremony was conducted by a brahmana named Krsnadasa.
Following His dancing in the Gundica temple, the Lord enjoyed water sports with His followers. On the day of Hera-Panchami, they could witness Laksmidevi, the goddess of luck, at work.
King Prataparudra carefully engaged Kasi Misra in conversation as he was aware of the impending Hera-Panchami celebration.
Tomorrow is the Hera-Panchami or Laksmi-Vijaya celebration. Festivities should be held in a manner that has never been done before.
Conclusion
For more such stories on Hera Panchami and related information, keep reading our blogs. Hare Krishna!!
