King Pratāparudra was an independent king of considerable power whose capital city was Cuttack. His ancestors are listed in the Odishan history, Mādalā Pañjī. There it is said that when King Kajjalabhānu, the last ruler of the Gaṅgā dynasty, was absent from the kingdom during wartime, his minister Kapilendra Deva ruled the kingdom. Also known as Kapileśvara, this king founded the Odisha’s Gajapati dynasty. Kapilendra’s queen was Pārvatī, to whom was born their son and successor, Puruñottama Deva. Puruñottama Deva was Pratāparudra’s father and Padmāvatī, or Rupāmbikā, his mother.

Pratāparudra was an important associate of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu and is named as a branch of Gadādhara Paṇḍita Gosvāmī. He, his wives and sons, were all devotees of Mahāprabhu. His chief wife (or paṭṭa-mahiñī) was named Gaurī. She had five sons, the eldest of whom was Puruñottama Jānā. This information is given in Bhakti-ratnākara (6.65).

We also learn from Rāmānanda Rāya’s Jagannāth-vallabha Nāṭaka that Pratāparudra was a mighty and heroic military leader, despite which he maintained a humble demeanour. He was a generous and liberal Vaiñṇava, devoted to the promotion of learning. Kavi Karṇapūra also writes about Pratāparudra’s military qualities in his Caitanya-candrodaya Nāṭaka. He protected brahminical culture and was especially benevolent towards vaiñṇava-dharma. Many books have been attributed to Pratāparudra, such as Sarasvatī-vilāsa, Pratāpa-mārtaṇḍa, Kautuka-cintāmaṇi, and Nirṇaya-saṅgraha. In fact, the first two of these books were written by two of his court scholars, Lolla Lakñmīdhara and Rāmakṛñṇa, respectively.

King Pratāparudra accepted Kāśī Miśra as his spiritual master and served him with great dedication. While staying at Purī, he would daily go to Kāśī Miśra’s house and massage his feet after he had taken his midday meal. While doing so, the king would inquire about the state of Lord Jagannātha’s service.

Pratāparudra had a regular duty that he performed whenever he was at Nīlācala. He would daily massage Kāśī Miśra’s feet and would hear a report on Lord Jagannātha’s service. (Caitanya Caritāmṛta 3.9.81-2)

Mahāprabhu stayed at Kāśī Miśra’s house in a one-room cottage on the veranda. In Odisha, such a small cottage is called a gambhīrā.

Many works of Vaiñṇava history dating from that period have given testimony that Mahāprabhu, Rāmānanda Rāya, Kāśī Miśra and Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya felt affection for Pratāparudra. Every one of Mahāprabhu’s biographies states that Pratāparudra received the Lord’s mercy.

There is a legend that when Mahāprabhu left Purī for Vṛndāvana, Pratāparudra felt such separation that he had a wooden mūrti of the Lord made. He assigned 54 brāhmaṇas to the service of the deity, as well as giving a large tract of land for the deity’s maintenance. In the royal palace at Purī, deities of Gaura-Nityānanda and Gaura-Gadādhara are worshipped alongside numerous other images.

During Pratāparudra’s reign, his kingdom stretched as far as Rajahmundry in modern Andhra Pradesh. It is not necessary to go into detail here, but the following is a brief summary of some of the historical background. Pratāparudra’s father, Puruñottama Deva, retrieved lands that had been lost by his kingdom and expanded Odishan lands as far as Rajahmundry through his own might. He was such a dedicated servant of Lord Jagannātha that the Lord Himself appeared on the battlefield to help him.

On one occasion, marriage was contracted between Puruñottama and the king of Kāñcī’s daughter Padmāvatī. The king of Kāñcī came to Purī to have a look at the groom. He arrived there during the time of the Ratha-yātrā and saw his prospective son-in-law sweeping the parade ground before the chariot of the Lord, as was the custom. Though Puruñottama was sweeping the ground with a golden broom, the king of Kāñcī thought that it was an insult to his daughter to marry her to a degraded sweeper. He thus cancelled the marriage between them. The king of Kāñcī was a devotee of Gaṇeśa, and had no great faith in Lord Jagannātha.

When Puruñottama heard of the sovereign of Kāñcī’s faithlessness, he became angry and attacked his territories with a large force. At first, he was unable to secure a victory, so he prostrated himself before Lord Jagannātha and surrendered to Him. This time Lord Jagannātha assured him that He would aid his war effort and so Puruñottama took up arms again.

As Puruñottama passed through the village of Anandpur, about 12 miles from Purī, a milk-maid said to him, “Two horsemen passed through here. They bought milk, yoghurt and buttermilk from me and paid for it with a ring. They told me to give you the ring and ask for money in exchange.” When Puruñottama looked at the ring, he was able to recognize that the two horsemen had been none other than Jagannātha and Balarāma. He rewarded the milk-maid and set off for certain victory against Kāñcī. He returned to Purī with the jewelled throne of that kingdom and offered it to the service of Jagannātha. He also took the Gaṇeśa deity that was worshipped in Kāñcī back to Purī. In this way, Jagannātha Deva crushed the arrogant pride of the king of Kāñcī. It is said that Gaṇeśa tried to cast obstacles in Puruñottama’s way during the battle. Since he went against his customary role of eliminating obstacles, he was given the name Bhaṇḍa (deceitful) Gaṇeśa.

Kāñcī’s king personally returned to Purī with his daughter Padmāvatī and offered her as Puruñottama’s bride while he was sweeping the Ratha-yātrā route for Lord Jagannātha. Thus, Puruñottama’s position was saved by the Lord Himself. He remained king of Purī until 1497 AD. He was succeeded by Pratāparudra, who remained on the throne until his death in 1540. Besides the above-mentioned queen Gaurī, he had four other wives, named Padmā, Padmālayā, Ilā and Mahilā.

King Pratāparudra was the most fortunate member of the Gajapati dynasty of Odishan kings, for having received the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the combined form of Rādhā and Kṛñṇa, and for being counted among His associates. Even though Mahāprabhu felt that it was harmful for a sannyāsī to come into contact with a worldly man like a king, his disdain for him was purely for show. Inwardly, He was won over by the king’s pure devotional attitude and generously showered him with His causeless mercy. Kṛñṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī has described how the Lord taught the people of this world through King Pratāparudra in his Caitanya Caritāmṛta. The story is told in the eleventh chapter of the Madhya-līlā.

At first, Pratāparudra approached Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya to tell him of his desire to meet Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He asked him so many times that finally Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya asked Mahāprabhu to allow the king to see Him. As soon as He heard the request, however, the Lord covered His ears and said, “For a sannyāsī like Myself, to see a king is the same as looking at a woman—it is like consuming poison” (2.11.7). Even though the king was a great devotee, the fact that he was a king made him an object of fear, like a cobra.

In Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa, Chapter 5, Vṛndāvana Dāsa Ṭhākura has described the King’s deep desire to meet with the Lord as well as a dream in which the King saw that Lord Jagannātha and Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu are non-different. The first time the King saw Mahāprabhu dance, however, he had some doubts when he observed His body covered in dust and His mouth filled with frothing saliva from ecstatic dancing.

That very night, Pratāparudra saw Lord Jagannātha in a dream. Lord Jagannātha was also covered in dust and saliva. Then he saw the same dust-covered form of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu sitting on Lord Jagannātha’s throne along with the Deity. From this amazing dream, he understood Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s divine nature.

[Lord Jagannātha said,] “Just look! My body is covered with dust and saliva. You are a king and the son of a king. Surely it is not proper for you to touch someone like Me.” Having said this, Lord Jagannātha looked at His servant and laughed. In that very moment, the King saw Caitanya Mahāprabhu sitting on the altar alongside the Lord. (Caitanya Bhāgavata 3.5.175-7)

One day, Pratāparudra came to Purī with Rāmānanda Rāya and other members of his retinue. Rāmānanda Rāya knew of the king’s eagerness to meet Mahāprabhu, so when he went to visit the Lord, he tried to persuade Him to allow such a meeting to take place, telling Him of the king’s deep affection for Him. He added that the king had granted him retirement from his job with full pay to allow him to stay with the Lord. When He heard how the king was filled with love for Him and how he had served His devotee, Mahāprabhu replied: “The king has shown so much love for you that the Lord is sure to accept him on the basis of this virtue alone.”

ye me bhakta-janāḥ pārtha na me bhaktāś ca te janāḥ
mad-bhaktānāṁ ca ye bhaktās te me bhaktatamā matāḥ

Those who claim to be My devotees are in fact not so. The best of My devotees are those who are devoted to My servants. (Caitanya Caritāmṛta 2.11.28)

Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya again entreated the Lord on the king’s behalf to allow such a meeting to take place, but the Lord said that under no circumstances would He come face to face with a king, and that if people continued to ask Him to do so, he would leave Purī and go to live elsewhere. When the king heard this, he was devastated. He said,

“The Lord has descended just to deliver all kinds of sinful, low cast born persons. He has even delivered sinners like Jagāi and Mādhāi. But it seems that He has made a promise to deliver the entire universe with the exception of Pratāparudra. He may have sworn not to see me, but I have sworn to give up my life if I cannot see Him. Without Mahāprabhu's mercy, my life and kingdom are worthless.” (Caitanya Caritāmṛta 2.11.45-6, 48-9)

When the Lord returned from His pilgrimage in South India, Pratāparudra sent a letter to Vāsudeva Sārvabhauma in which he once again expressed his desire to meet with the Lord. Vāsudeva Sārvabhauma showed the letter to the other devotees and all were duly impressed by the degree of devotion exhibited by the King. Nityānanda Prabhu decided that He would speak to the Lord, not about meeting the King but simply about his personal qualities and actions. He said the following to the Lord:

“We want to submit everything to You, whether or not it is fitting. The King has decided that he will become a yogī if he cannot meet You. He says, ‘I will wear earrings and become a mendicant. I have no desire to enjoy this kingdom without the mercy of Gaurahari. When will I be able to see the Lord’s moonlike face to my full satisfaction and when will I be able to hold His lotus feet to my heart?’” (Caitanya Caritāmṛta 2.12.19-21)

Though the Lord’s heart melted listening to the King’s mood, He maintained His hard-line position in order to set an example for renouncers of the world. He said that the spiritual injunction is that a sannyāsī is forbidden to set sight on a King. Furthermore, the Lord said, Dāmodara Paṇḍita would criticize Him if He were to engage in such forbidden acts. Dāmodara Paṇḍita answered, saying:

“I am merely an insignificant jīva, so what power do I have to tell You what to do? I shall see You meet the king of Your own volition. The king loves You very much, and You are influenced by a devotee’s feelings of love. It is the power of this love for You that will reward him with the opportunity to touch You. Although You are the Supreme Lord and are completely independent, still it is Your nature to be influenced by the love and affection of Your devotees.” (Caitanya Caritāmṛta 2.12.27-9)

Nityānanda Prabhu added that people who experience unrequited love tend to commit suicide. Thus, in order to save the king’s life, he asked Mahāprabhu to give him a used outer garment (bahirvāsa). The Lord could not refuse, so Nityānanda Prabhu asked Govinda for the bahirvāsa and sent it to the king via Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya. The king was overjoyed to receive the cloth and he began to worship it as non-different from the Lord Himself.

When Rāmānanda Rāya received the king’s permission to come to live near the Lord in Purī, he also described King Pratāparudra’s intense desire to see the Lord and tried to persuade the Lord to fulfil that desire. Mahāprabhu spoke out of a desire to establish the rules of conduct for the renounced orders; He said that just as even a slight mark on a piece of white cloth immediately becomes noticeable, the smallest character flaws of a sannyāsī are noticed by the general public. A jug full of milk is contaminated by even a drop of liquor; similarly, though it may be true that King Pratāparudra possess all virtues, the very fact that he is a king makes his association undesirable.

However, the Lord was unable to completely ignore Rāmānanda Rāya’s request, because of their close friendship. He Himself suggested that He could see the king’s son, for according to the maxim ātmā vai jāyate putraḥ (“one extends as one’s own son”), there is no difference between the father and the son. When he learned of the Lord’s will, King Pratāparudra immediately sent his son. When Mahāprabhu saw the teenage prince with his lotus eyes and dark skin wearing a yellow cloth, He immediately thought of Kṛñṇa. He embraced the lad making him experience the ecstatic transformations of prema. When the prince came back to the palace, the king embraced him and felt the same ecstasies through him. From that day onward, the king’s son was considered one of Mahāprabhu’s associates.

A devotee who is free from pride is surrendered and without any ulterior motive, is eligible to receive the Lord’s mercy.

The Lord bestows greater blessings on the meek and humble. Those of noble birth, the learned and the wealthy, are all filled with pride. (Caitanya Caritāmṛta 3.4.68)

King Pratāparudra was without any pride, even though he had so much material power as well as having all good qualities. Mahāprabhu had noticed his willingness to engage in even menial service and was pleased with him and ready to give him His mercy, even though externally He made a show of being hard-hearted.

King Pratāparudra personally engaged in Lord Jagannātha's service by cleansing the road with a gold-handled broom. He also sprinkled the road with sandalwood scented water. Although he sat on the royal throne, he engaged in such menial service for the sake of Lord Jagannātha; thus became the recipient of the Lord’s blessings. Mahāprabhu was happy to see the king’s service to the Lord and it was through this service that he finally received the mercy of the Lord. (Caitanya Caritāmṛta 2.13.15-18)

The Lord’s mercy has no cause. Only He knows who will receive His blessings and when. He often does so in an indirect manner rather than doing it openly. The Lord was pleased by the king’s engagement in a menial service and even though He did not make a public show of mercy to him, He did reveal His personal form to the king and thus fulfil his deepest desire.

These events are described in Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, Chapter 13. During the Ratha-yātrā festival, the devotees were divided into seven groups for chanting the Holy Names. By the Lord’s divine power each one of these groups thought that Mahāprabhu was with them alone. Pratāparudra was able to witness this pastime by the boundless mercy of the Lord and felt wonder and ecstatic love. All this was Mahāprabhu’s indirect mercy.

When Mahāprabhu wanted to dance in front of Lord Jagannātha’s chariot, He would gather the seven sampradāyas together into one kīrtana group. Meanwhile, the devotees formed three rings of protection around the Lord. The innermost line of defence was headed by Nityānanda Prabhu, the second by Kāśīśvara Paṇḍita, Mukunda and other devotees. Pratāparudra and his soldiers formed the outermost circle to defend the Lord from the crowds.

King Pratāparudra watched mesmerized while the Lord danced, resting his hand on the shoulder of his minister (mahāpātra) Haricandana. At that time, Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita, who was also absorbed in watching the Lord’s ecstatic dancing, came and stood in front of the King, blocking his vision. Haricandana repeatedly tried to push Śrīvāsa to one side, telling him to let the King see until finally Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita lost his temper and slapped Haricandana. When Haricandana became angry and was about to respond to Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita’s aggression, the King said:

“You are very fortunate, for you have been graced by the touch of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura. I have not been so fortunate. You should feel obliged to him.” (Caitanya Caritāmṛta 2.13.97)

In Mahāprabhu's līlā, we find a delightful mixture of the highest manifestations of love, mercy and teachings for the general public. As He pulled the chariot of Lord Jagannātha, Mahāprabhu was absorbed in the mood of Rādhā and the other gopīs at their meeting with Lord Kṛñṇa, who had come to Kurukshetra from Dvaraka on the occasion of the solar eclipse. Thus Mahāprabhu wished to attract Kṛñṇa (in His Jagannātha form) from the site of His majestic pastimes in Kurukshetra, represented by Nīlācala (the Jagannātha Temple) to the site of His sweet, loving pastimes in Vṛndāvana, represented by Sundarachal, or the Guṇḍicā temple. Sometimes, Mahāprabhu would lag behind as He tried to understand the depth of the gopīs’ loving power; Jagannātha would seem to understand the Lord’s emotions and slow down the movement of the chariot. Thus, the Lord danced more frenziedly as He and Lord Jagannātha went deeper and deeper into ecstatic communion. As He danced in the state of transcendental madness (divyonmāda), the Lord seemed about to fall down just in the very spot where King Pratāparudra was standing. The alert king immediately held the Lord to keep Him from falling. This was how the Lord blessed the king and allowed him to touch Him, but Mahāprabhu immediately began to rebuke Himself for having allowed a materialistic person to touch Him. The inconceivable activities of the Lord contain delightful manifestations of emotion as well as profound teachings for the world, neither of which are easy to understand.

When He saw that he was the king, Mahāprabhu condemned Himself, saying, “O, how pitiful it is that I have touched a person interested in mundane affairs.” Even though the Lord had made up His mind to give the king an audience upon seeing him act as a sweeper in the service of Lord Jagannātha, He still externally expressed feelings of anger in order to warn His personal associates. (Caitanya Caritāmṛta 2.13.182, 184-5)

Vāsudeva Sārvabhauma devised a way to arrange a meeting between Pratāparudra and the Lord. During the Ratha-yātrā festival, after having danced in the saṅkīrtana with His devotees, the Lord customarily went into a flower garden to rest. Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya suggested to the king that he take this opportunity to approach the Lord dressed as a commoner and to recite a verse of the rāsa-pañcādhyāya from the Bhāgavata. The Lord would be in a trance-like state and would be transported by the recital of the love of Kṛñṇa and the gopīs. In this condition, He would surely embrace the king. The king was comforted by these words of advice.

There is a spot about halfway between the Lord Jagannātha Temple and Guṇḍicā, or halfway between Śraddhā Bālu and Ardhāsanī Devī, which is called Balagandi. On the Ratha-yātrā day, Lord Jagannātha’s chariot stops here at midday. Devotees also take rest here to be freed from their tiredness. The custom is that all devotees, whether important or not, can make food offerings to Him on this occasion. Because of the large crowds that normally gather, Mahāprabhu would go to rest in a flower garden by a coconut grove. King Pratāparudra remembered Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya’s counsel and approached the Lord in the dress of a Vaiñṇava and began to massage His feet. He recited the following two verses from rāsa-pañcādhyāya of Bhāgavata:

jayati te ’dhikaṁ janmanā vrajaḥ
śrayate indirā śaśvad atra hi
dayita dṛśyatāṁ dikñu tāvakās
tvayi dhṛtāsavas tvāṁ vicinvate

The gopīs said, “The glories of Vraja-bhūmi have increased ever since You took birth here; ever since then, the goddess of fortune has taken up residence here. O, beloved! We whose lives depend completely on You are searching for You, please show Yourself to us. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.31.1)

tava kathāmṛtaṁ tapta-jīvanaṁ
kavibhir īḍitaṁ kalmañāpaham
śravaṇa-maṅgalaṁ śrīmad-ātataṁ
bhuvi gṛṇanti te bhūridā janāḥ

Nectarean discussions about You give life to those who are suffering from Your separation. The great devotees like Prahlāda, Dhruva and others glorify You always. Such discussions destroy all of one’s sins. Listening to them brings auspiciousness and the fortune of love for Kṛñṇa. Those who distribute these wonderful words throughout the world are most munificent. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.31.9)

As soon as Mahāprabhu heard this verse, He became ecstatic with love and embraced the king, while repeating the word bhūri-dā (“most benevolent”) from the verse. Though the Lord is all-knowing, He asked the king his identity. Pratāparudra answered that He was the servant of the servant of the Lord. Satisfied with the king, the Lord revealed to him a glorious divine form. All the devotees were overjoyed to see that the king had finally received the Lord’s mercy.

When the ratha was being pulled from Balagandi to Guṇḍicā, it suddenly came to a stop and even the strongest men and most powerful elephants were unable to move it, much to the consternation of King Pratāparudra. When the Lord saw that everyone was worried, He told everyone to leave the chariots alone and ordered His own devotees to man the ropes. Mahāprabhu Himself went behind the chariot and began to push it with His head. In a moment, the chariot started to move with a great rumbling noise. King Pratāparudra and the rest of his entourage marvelled at this feat of the Lord.

While spending the four months in Purī, the Bengali Vaiñṇavas witnessed numerous pastimes of Lord Jagannātha. On the Nandotsava, the day after the Kṛñṇa’s appearance ceremony, Mahāprabhu would dress up as a cowherd and put on a play about Kṛñṇa’s Vraja pastimes with His devotees. Pratāparudra also participated in this līlā.

When the Lord made His first attempt to go to Vṛndāvana, He left Purī on Vijayā-daśamī and went to Cuttack where He met Pratāparudra in a garden under a bakula tree. Here, too, the Lord saw the great prema of the king and embraced him, drenching him in His own tears of love. From that day on, the Lord was given the epithet pratāparudra-saṁtrātā, “the saviour of King Pratāparudra”.

At one time, the King’s son placed Bhavānanda Rāya’s son Gopīnātha Paṭṭanāyaka on the scaffold for having misappropriated state funds. Some devotees came to Mahāprabhu to ask Him to intervene in order to save Gopīnātha’s life. The Lord was unhappy at being asked to get involved in such mundane affairs and made up His mind to go to Ālālanātha. The king was disturbed at hearing this news and prepared himself to give up everything in order to keep the Lord in Purī. These are all further proofs of the extent of king’s love for the Lord’s lotus feet.

When King Pratāparudra heard all these details, he felt great pain in his heart. “I shall give up everything I am owed,” he said, “if Mahāprabhu will only stay here in Jagannātha Purī. Even a moment’s contact with the Lord is worth more to me than millions of cintāmaṇi jewels. I care nothing for this small sum of 200,000 kāhans (a kāhana equals 1280 cowries.). I would indeed offer everything, not only this but my life and kingdom for the Lord’s lotus feet.” (Caitanya Caritāmṛta 3.9.94-96)

In the description of Bengali manuscripts in the Bangiya Sahitya Parishad library in Kolkata, a notice is given of a song with Pratāparudra’s signature. There is some doubt as to whether the song is indeed his or not. A portion of that song goes as follows:

I will become an ornament on Your body,
the ankle bells upon Your feet.
I will become the chakora who gazes
at the moons of Your fingernails,
the bee who buzzes around Your lotus feet.
I will become the mirror You look into,
the whisk that fans You.
And I have yet another desire;
Let me become insignificant dust on Your feet.
If I cannot become the dust of Your feet,
then be merciful and do with me as You please,
this is Pratāparudra’s prayer.

When Mahāprabhu disappeared, Pratāparudra felt great separation from Him. This is described in the Bhakti-ratnākara as follows:

When the king heard that the Lord had departed, he fell to the ground and began lamenting. Hitting his head again, and again, he fell unconscious; only the association of Rāmānanda Rāya kept him alive. The king was unable to bear the absence of the Lord and so he left Purī, remaining elsewhere for the rest of his days. (Bhakti-ratnākara 3.217-19)

King Pratāparudra’s descendants are: (1) Kāluyā Pratāpa, (2) Kakhāruyā Pratāpa, (3) Govinda Vidyādhara, (4) Chakra Pratāpa, (5) Narasiṁha Deva, (6) Raghurāma Deva, (7) Mukunda Deva Haricandana, (8) Rāmacandra Deva, (9) Puruñottama Deva, (10) Nṛsiṁha Deva, (11) Gaṅgādhara Deva, (12) Balabhadra Deva, (13) Mukunda Deva II, (14) Divyasiṁha Deva, (15) Hare Kṛñṇa Deva, (16) Gopīnātha Deva, (17) Rāmacandra Deva II, (18) Vīrakeśarī Deva, (19) Divyasiṁha Deva II, (20) Mukunda Deva III, (21) Rāmacandra Deva III, (22) Vīrakeśarī Deva II, (23) Divyasiṁha Deva III, (24) Mukunda Deva IV, (25) Rāmacandra Deva IV, (26) Vīrakeśarī Deva III, (27) Divyasiṁha Deva IV.

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¹ - In a Satya-yuga during the second half of Brahmā’s lifetime, a certain king named Indradyumna was born into the dynasty of the Sun. He ruled over the kingdom of Malwa with its capital at Avantipur. He was a great devotee of Viñṇu, as was his priest Vidyāpati. In the first half of Brahmā’s life, Lord Jagannātha had appeared in Nilachal as Nīla Mādhava with the purpose of delivering the conditioned souls of this world. He was served by a tribal king named Viśvāvasu. Nīla Mādhava manifested the deity form of Lord Jagannātha through these three persons: Indradyumna, Vidyāpati and Viśvāvasu. The Lord appeared in three forms—Balarāma, Subhadrā and Jagannātha—at the place known as Bānki Mohana in order to show His mercy to King Indradyumna.