Kartik Shukla Paksha Amla Navami Tithi. It is also known as ‘Dhatri Navami’. On this punya tithi, the feet of Shri Radha are seen. It is said that on this day Sriradha is dressed in odiani attire. For this reason, there is no crowd of devotees to see the feet of Shri Radha at the Sakshi Gopal Temple in Puri district. So let’s know in a nutshell that on this day, the feet of SriRadha are the greatest of philosophy.
Sriradha is the culmination of nishkam bhakti. As soon as the name of which is remembered, a man’s wings are destroyed. Devotees are eager to see his feet on the auspicious occasion of Amla Navami. Once a year on Navami, devotees see the feet of Sriradharani, which is wrapped around clothes throughout the year, and get blessings. This day is special for every Odia.
According to legend, King Unmadhava was seated in Vrindavan as a meeting idol of Sri Krishna brought from the banks of the River Yamuna. Later, this Manivigraha came from Vrindavan to testify for a Shrivatsa Brahmin of Kanchi and stayed in Kanchi and did not return to Vrindavan and was worshipped as Sakshigopal.
Later, King Purushottam Deva of Orissa conquered Kanchi and brought Lord Srisakshigopal along with him to Puri. From Puri to Barabati Fort in Cuttack, from Barabati Fort to Rathipur in Khurda and then to Kantalbai, Prabhu was shifted. Finally, the Lord’s Manivigraha was installed near the Bhogamandap of Puri Srimandir. A few days after Sakshigopal was established in the Shri Jagannath Temple, the dream of Shri Jagannath to King Ramchandra Dev became – Sakshigopal is sitting by the path of bhogbuha and making all the confectionery items, including our cake, in advance, we are fasting. The king’s sleep was immediately broken, the king became very busy. While the king was in such a state of shock, a monk named Baba Brahmachari went to the king and said that 15 miles from Puri, punyatoya ratnachira, the center of Brahmin rule, install Shri Sakshi-Gopal in a natural forest full of ana, bakul, tamal, ketaki and coconut trees. This dhamathik is like the Vrindavan Dham.
King Sri Ramachandra Deva, considering the advice of Baba Brahmachari to be the wish of Sakshigopal, first established a temple near Siddhabalaram in this natural forest and installed Shrisakshi-Gopala. The present temple has been constructed later. Sri Krishna remained as Sakshigopal, while Sriradha stayed in Vrindavan. Both of them felt very relieved as they did not meet each other. Over a period of time, Priya was born as Manvi Priya Lakshmi in the house of Beleshwar Mohapatra, the elder panda of Shri Sakshigopal at SriRadha Sewak Sahi. Lord Sakshi Gopal leaves the temple in the third hour of the night and meets Lakshmi at lakshmi’s residence.
The Guptas make a keli with Lakshmi in Bakulavan, known as Vrindavana. Most of the time, when the lord’s flute, night-clad basana, chula were found in the sleeping palanquin of Adilakshmi, the king called Badapanda a thief and tortured Nana. Badapanda Beleshwar Mohapatra fainted and entered the refuge of Sakshi Gopal.
Lord Sakshigopal said in a dream to the king, “Badapanda is innocent, my beloved Radha has been born in his house as Lakshmi. You should soon build a golden idol like Lakshmi and install it with me. According to the lord’s dream, king Garhjat brought some skilled artisans from the Ranpur area and made a golden idol like Lakshmi. Lakshmi was bedridden with diseases from the day the idol began to be built. Lakshmi Ihlila passed away at the time of the idol’s life. According to the wishes of Lord Sakshigopal, the dead body of his beloved Lakshmi was cremated in front of the Sakshigopal temple.
Later, a Mahavira temple was established at the samadhi of Lakshmi to commemorate the legend. Srisakshigopal’s long-cherished wish to have Lakshmi as Radhika was fulfilled. Since Thakur belongs to the western region, wheat products were consumed instead of annaprasad. Like a western woman, her feet were covered throughout the year by the sari worn by Goddess Sriradha.
After a few days like this, some of the servants considered that Thakurani Sriradha came to our Odisha as Manvi Priya Lakshmi and stayed in Satyavadi, but one day the Odiani did not get dressed. Finally, it was decided that the Odiani besh would be held on the ninth day of Shukla Paksha Navami, the birthday of Lakshmi, who is worshiped as Radha. At the same time, the Thakurani kanaiya is killed, so the devotees see the lotus feet of Thakurani, which is wrapped in a saree throughout the year. On this day, Gopal is adorned with sandalwood, with a golden kirit on his head, a golden flute in his hand in the garb of natwar, and Radha is adorned with khandua patavastra with kirit, paunji, jhutiya, kundal, chapsari sevati har, noth, guna and amla necklace.