Five days ago Lord Jagannatha performed another miracle to save the life of an animal here at our temple in Bhadrak, Odisha. I have no idea why, but at this temple Lord Jagannatha has kept performing miracles to save various animals, usually bulls or street dogs. I have written about several of them in the past which you can find on our website.

This time it was Tunglu the street dog who lives near our temple. I have known him for four years since he was born, and this is the third time he was supposed to die, but has somehow managed to survive each time. We had also treated his mother several times, and some of her other children over the years.

Tunglu the street dog, picture taken two years ago.

Five days ago, on Thursday, there was a sudden cyclone like burst of wind and rain. It came out of nowhere, and for about 20 minutes there was unbelievable wind followed by torrential rain. Prior to this, Tunglu the street dog had snuck on top of our roof and was sleeping on the parapet wall. The storm hit suddenly, first just as cyclonic wind. The force of wind was so strong that he was thrown off the roof and fell three floors onto the concrete road below.

I ran to help him, but was sure he would be dead or severely injured. He was dazed but not unconscious, unable to move or react. I was scared to pick him up in case his bones were broken from the fall, but then the heavy rain started and I had no choice. Even though he was still not reacting to us, I had to pick him up and carry him to shelter from the rain. I sat with him for around 10 minutes petting him to try to bring him back to normal consciousness. After about 10 minutes of petting he was able to again react to us.

It was amazing to us that he had fallen three floors onto solid concrete, but none of his bones were broken and he had no external injuries. Around an hour later, he walked around a little bit, went outside and tried to pass water, but he only passed blood in his urine. That meant there was some internal injury, but we had no way to know if it was serious or minor. We prayed to Lord Jagannatha and kept watch over him.

The sign of the miracle came when a devotee told me the moment the wind came and Tunglu fell off the roof, the temple chakra broke and fell off. The exact time when he fell three floors onto concrete and didn’t break even one bone, the brass Sudarshana chakra on top of the temple spontaneously broke and fell off.

The brass chakra that snapped off as Tunglu fell from the roof.

The area that snapped off. This was the brass handle of the chakra that extended about six inches down into the concrete.

The chakra had been installed 20 years ago when the deities of Lord Jagannatha had been installed in 2006. It was made out of brass, and fixed in concrete on the main dome of the temple. This street dog Tunglu has been coming to this temple every single day, and eating prasadam his whole life. For some reason Lord Jagannatha chose to protect his body when he fell off from three floors, and instead broke his own chakra on top of his temple.

Abhisheka being done to the brass chakra and deities in 2006 when the temple installation was being conducted.

Tunglu sat for two days next to our yajna kunda without getting up, and then one evening he got up and walked to the gate showing he wanted to be released. After that he was completely fine, as though nothing happened, and continues to come every day to the temple to eat prasadam.

The new chakra that will be installed tomorrow.

Today we went to buy a new chakra to install on the temple dome, and it will be installed tomorrow.

Every cow and calf at our sanctuary has a story of rescue, healing, and hope. Your generous support provides them with food, shelter, medical care, and a lifetime of protection. Together, we can give these sacred animals the love and safety they deserve.