GUNDICHA MARJAN...........The day prior to Ratha Yatra in Jagannath Puri is Gundicha-marjana. Cleaning of the Gundicha temple takes place to welcome Lord Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra. The Gundicha temple is located three kilometers northeast of the Jagannatha temple. This is where Lord Jagannath stays for one week at the time of the Ratha-yatra celebrations in Puri.
Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would personally clean the Gundicha temple along with hundreds of devotees. The Lord did this just to instruct others.
While He cleaned the temple in great jubilation, He chanted the Hare Krishna mantra. Similarly, all the devotees were also chanting and at the same time performing their respective duties.The entire beautiful body of the Lord was covered with dust and dirt. In this way it became transcendentally beautiful. At times, when cleansing the temple, the Lord shed tears, and in some places He even cleansed with those tears.
After Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu collected all the straw, dust and grains of sand in one place, He threw those outside the temple.
When the Gundicha temple was thoroughly cleansed, it became very purified, cool and pleasing, just as if the Lord’s own mind appeared there. Indeed, after everything had been washed, the minds of the devotees were as clean as the rooms. By enacting this pastime of cleaning theGundicha temple, Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu instructed us on how we should receive Lord Krishna within our heart. If we desire to see Krishna seated within our hearts, we must first of all purify our hearts fully and prepare to receive His Lotus Feet
