What is Dakshin Puri?
‘Dakshin Puri’ is a name which may cause you curiosity! You might be thinking that Dakshin Puri is a South Indian replica city of Jagannath Puri in Odisha based on the literal translation i.e., Southern Puri. To clear the confusion, Dakshin Puri is an upcoming grand temple dedicated to Sri Jagganath, Baladeva and Subhadra Devi planned in Thrissur, the cultural capital of Kerala in South India. It is an expression of love by the devotees of the Hare Krishna Movement and dedicated to our revered spiritual master HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the Founder-Acharya of ISKCON.
Dakshin Puri aims to showcase the grand culture of Jagannath Puri in Kerala and entire South India based on the concept of community living. Devotees could live in the apartment complex being planned nearby and engage in devotional service to Lord Jagannath through book distribution of Srila Prabhupada’s books, Deity worship, Sankirtan, Prasadam distribution, Vedic classes and many more devotional activities. Though there are many temples dedicated to Lord Jagannath in South India especially by the Hare Krishna Movement, Dakshin Puri aims to be distinct amongst them all. This will be reflected even in the architectural design of the temple which shall create the feel of the Sri Mandir in Jagannath Puri.
Lord Jagannath alongwith His siblings have been enchanting the devotees of the Hare Krishna Movement for the past few years at a small temple in the center of Thrissur city. He is described as the Lord of the Universe generally. With His huge round lotus eyes and a very unique form made of wood with no visible legs, He enchants the entire universe. He captures the heart of an atheist too.
Recently, the devotees felt that it was time to build a unique temple for Lord Jagannath in Thrissur city where people from all walks of life could receive the mercy of Jagannath irrespective of religion, caste, creed, gender, and socio-economic status. Thus, the idea of Dakshin Puri was born.
The project would be planned, designed, executed and maintained by devotees legally through the medium of Hare Krishna Prasthanam, Thrissur or in short, HKP, Thrissur. This trust would act as the umbrella support for the Dakshin Puri project.
The great Acharyas always say that there is no limit to the ways in which we can serve the Lord. We are tiny but the Lord is always ‘ananta’ or unlimited. The idea of Dakshin Puri has its roots in the vedic concept of ‘yukta vairagya’ i.e. use all material resources in the service of the Lord without desiring them for personal gratification. If our desire to serve the Lord is sincere, He will fill in the gaps as promised below.
ananyas cintayanto mamye janah paryupasate
tesam nityabhiyuktanam
yoga-ksemam vahamy aham.
In the Bhagavad Gita 9.22, Lord Krishna
“But those who worship Me with devotion, meditating on My transcendental form-to them I carry what they lack and preserve what they have.”
Dakshin Puri is a project conceived in line with the assurance of Lord Krishna in shloka 9.22 of the Bhagavad Gita and the instructions of our revered spiritual master Srila Prabhupada.
During the 12 years between 1965 to 1977, Srila Prabhupada traveled all over the world 14 times supervising the growth of the Hare Krishna Movement. The construction or setting up of temples was one of his top priorities. As he started the movement in the west beginning from New York city in the USA, many new temples were set up by building new ones or converting existing structures such as mansions, buildings, closed churches, etc into beautiful temples. Some examples would include the Rukmini Dwarakadish temple in Los Angeles, The New Vrindavana Community project in West Virginia, ISKCON building in the Manhattan area of New York city, Bhaktivedanta Manor near London, Radha Londonishvara temple in London and Radha Parisishvara in Paris.
India too was never left behind with the inauguration of grand projects. This includes the Radha Rasabihari temple in Juhu, Mumbai, Krishna Balarama temple in Vrindavana, Radha Madhava temple in Mayapur and the ISKCON center in Hyderabad.
Many other grand projects of the Hare Krishna Movement have attracted the attention of leaders and the common people alike. This includes the Radha Krishna Chandra Mandir in Bangalore, Radha Parthasarathi Temple in New Delhi, ISKCON Chennai, Radha Madhava Mandir in Ahmedabad, the upcoming Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir and upcoming Temple of Vedic Planetarium (TOVP) in Mayapur.
The Dakshin Puri project is open to expansion in the future through the addition of new facilities or avenues for facilitating devotional service. With your generous support and the combined blessings of Srila Prabhupada and the Lord, we look forward to making Dakshin Puri a reality!
All glories to Sri Guru & Gauranga!