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Tales of Lord Jagannath: The Account of Ganapati Bhatta

July 2, 2015 | By

The story behind the appearance of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra in Ganapati Vesha at the Snana Mandap.

Lord Jagannath Tales

Disguised as a Brahman, the Lord met Ganapati Bhatta as he was leaving Puri in a state of dejection.

Ganapati Bhatta was an ardent disciple of Ganesha. Once he traveled all the way from Maharashtra to witness the Snana Yatra of Lord Jagannath. The Snana Yatra takes place on the full-moon day of Jyeshtha.

When Ganapati Bhatta arrived at the Snana Mandapa, he did not find an elephant head on Lord Jagannath. He was terribly disappointed since he could not behold his favourite God.

Lord Jagannath could gauge the feelings of the devotee. Disguised as a Brahman, the Lord met Ganpati Bhatta as he was leaving Puri in a state of dejection. The Lord persuaded him to visit the Snana Mandap in the evening.
When Ganpati Bhatta reached there he was ecstatic to find Lord Jagannath with the head of an elephant looking exactly like Lord Ganesha.

Since that day each year on the auspicious occasion of Deva Snana Poornima Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra appear in Ganapati Vesha after taking bath at the Snana Mandap.

Read the Tales of Lord Jagannath

These stories have been republished from the book Tales of Lord Jagannath by Ramendra Kumar. This book is available on Amazon.in and has been published by:
B K Publications Pvt. Ltd.

The opinions shared by the writer is his personal opinion and does not reflect the opinion of Learning and Creativity Magazine.

Ramendra Kumar (Ramen) is an award-winning author, performance storyteller, and TEDx speaker whose 54 books span fiction for all ages, satire, biographies, and inspirational non-fiction. Translated into 33 languages and recipient of 41 All-India awards for children’s literature, his works — known for their wit, warmth, and emotional resonance — have touched readers across India and beyond. His titles with the National Book Trust (NBT), India alone have sold over 1.5 million copies. Ramen has participated in international literary festivals and marquee Indian events, including the Jaipur Literature Festival. He has served as a jury member for The Times of India’s Women “AutHer” Awards, a mentor for the Scholastic Writers Academy, and was named “Author and Storyteller of the Year” on Talking Stories, London. His arduous battle with cancer was featured on Humans of Bombay, one of India’s largest storytelling platforms, where his story garnered over four million views. In October 2025, he won the ‘Mr. India Cancer Warrior’ crown at a unique competition for cancer survivors held in New Delhi! An alumnus of the prestigious Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet, Ramen is an engineer and an MBA who left his role as General Manager (Corporate Communications), SAIL, to pursue his true calling — writing, storytelling, and inspiring lives. Ramen’s website is www.ramendra.in and he has a page devoted to him on Wikipedia.
All Posts of Ramendra Kumar
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