Sri Alarnath Temple

          Sri Alarnath Temple is a very important temple of Vishnu near Jagannatha Puri (23 km) at Brahmagiri, Odisha. Lord Alarnath is the representative of Lord Jagannatha at Puri. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu stayed at this temple during anavasara, the two-week period after snana-yatra when Lord Jagannatha rests in seclusion before the annual Rathayatra. Lord Chaitanya couldn't bear staying in Puri without seeing His beloved Lord, and at Alarnath he would reveal the highest spiritual emotions, pining in ecstatic separation. While doing the Temple’s parikrama, one can take darshan of the incredible prema-sila (stone slab) of Lord Chaitanya, on the right side of the temple when entering the main gate from the road. This stone slab bears impressions from Lord Chaitanya's body. When Lord Chaitanya first lay in full obeisance before Lord Alarnath, the stone beneath Lord Chaitanya melted from his ecstatic touch.

          Lord Alarnath is an ancient four-handed Vishnu Deity believed to be installed by one of the Alvars. Lord Alarnath’s consorts Sri and Bhudevi also accompany Him. The temple also features small Deities of Sri Krishna’s queens Rukmini and Satyabhama. This temple was built by King Madan Mahadev in 1128 AD. The temple also holds a deity of Lord Chaitanya known as sad-bhuja, or "Six-armed," signifying Lord Chaitanya's identity with both Lord Krishna and Lord Ramachandra. To reach Alarnath, Lord Chaitanya would walk along the beach. The brahmanas from about fifty families take turns serving the Alarnath deities. Each family specializes in one aspect of the deity service, the tradition passing from generation to generation. Some families cook for the deities, while others offer the deities their meals, worship them, decorate them, and so on. The temple owns about sixty acres of land, some used for the deities and some for their servants.

History : 

          Lord Brahma Carves the Deity According to a local tradition, the history of Alarnath goes back millions of years to Satya-yuga. Lord Narayana spoke to Lord Brahma from the sky, describing in detail the form of a deity Brahma should carve and worship. Afterwards, Lord Narayana addressed Brahma, “Because you have worshiped me here, this place will be known as Brahmagiri [Brahma’s hill].” With the passage of time, Brahmagiri became known as Alarnath. The present temple was built about eleven hundred years ago, and the puja was previously performed by South Indian brahmins. Because the pujaris were in the discipline line of the great spiritual teachers known as the Alvars, the deity became known as Alvarnatha (“Lord of the Alvars”), which in time became Alarnath.

Folktale : 

          Once a priest named Sriketana, whose service was to offer prasadam to Lord Alarnath, had to go out to beg provisions for the Lord. He gave his young son Madhu the responsibility for making offerings in his absence after telling him to place Alarnath’s meals before him and pray to the Lord to accept them. When the time came to make the first offering, Madhu brought the food to the Lord and prayed, “O my dear Lord, please accept this offering. I am just a boy and do not know how to offer properly.” Madhu then played with his friends. When he returned, he saw that all the food was still on the plate. “O my Lord,” he said, “why haven’t You eaten? If my father hears of this, he will be angry with me. Please eat.” Madhu left, only to return and find the food still on the plate. With tears in his eyes, he again begged the Lord to eat. When Madhu returned the third time, the Alarnath’s plate was empty. Madhu happily carried the empty plate to his mother.

“Where is the prasadam?” she asked.

“Lord Alarnath ate everything!” Madhu replied.

For three days Madhu and his family fasted because whenever Madhu offered the Lord His meal, He ate everything. When Sriketana returned and heard of the situation, he scolded his son, “What have you done with Lord Alarnath’s prasadam?”

“He ate it, father. I offered it just like you taught me.”

“He cannot eat,” Sriketana replied. “He is just a stone deity.”

Sriketana decided to see what was going on, so he hid behind a pillar while his son made an offering to the Lord. After Madhu had left, Sriketana saw the Lord reach down and pick up a bowl of sweet rice. Sriketana jumped from behind the pillar and caught hold of the Lord’s arm, spilling hot sweet rice on the Lord Alarnath’s body.

“Stop!” Sriketana yelled. “What are You doing? Who ever heard of a Deity eating? If You eat everything, how will we live?”

Lord Alarnath replied, “O materialist in the guise of a priest, I never accept offerings from a faithless person like you, devoid of devotion. I accepted the offerings of Madhu because he offered them with simplicity and love.”

Today, the temple pandas point out several scars on the Lord Alarnath’s body where He was scalded by the sweet rice.