Virtual Tour of all the sacred places of Mayapur Nabadwip dham. To know more about Mayapur Nabadwip dham, please refer to our articles in this category.
Category: West Bengal
About 500 years ago, the state of Bengal was ruled by Nawab Hussain Shah. Nawab Hussain Shah was the incarnation of King Jarasandha, who had conspired and fought numerous wars against Krishna in Dwapara Yuga. That same Krishna had now incarnated as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Navadvipa. Chand Kazi was the magistrate unto whom the administration of Navadvipa was entrusted at that time (Kazi translates to a magistrate in English). Chand Kazi was the incarnation of King Kamsa (Krishna’s maternal uncle). The residence of Chand Kazi was situated not very far from Srivasa Angan. Chand Kazi also happened to be the spiritual counselor of Nawab Hussain Shah.
Sri Advaita Acharya is also known as Gaura-ana Thakura, or who has caused Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the Supreme Lord, to descend in this world. Seeing the degraded consciousness of the people in general, Advaita acharya began to consider how they could be delivered from the clutches of Maya (material illusion). He finally concluded that only the Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna Himself can deliver these souls from their suffering. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada mentions in his purport that just as a condemned person is delivered by the special favor of the chief executive head, similarly, the condemned people in this age of kali can only be delivered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead or someone who is empowered by Him. Sri Advaita Prabhu thought that His name ‘Advaita’ would befit Him, only if He could cause the Supreme Lord to descend and inaugurate the sankirtana movement. He knew very well that Lord Krishna becomes indebted to a devotee and sells Himself to one who merely offers Him a Tulasi leaf and a palmful of water. Considering this, Sri Advaita Prabhu began regularly worshipping the Supreme Lord with Tulasi leaves and Ganges water. With His loud voice, He called upon Him to descend into this material world. The place where Sri Advaita Acharya used to worship His saligrama sila with Tulasi and Ganges water, is presently known as ‘Babla’ and is located not very far from the Santipur railway station in West Bengal. Being pleased with His earnest prayers, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the Supreme Lord, descended upon this world, in the year 1486 AD on the day of Phalguni Purnima.
Tulasi manjari sahita ganga-jale
Niravadhi seve Krishne maha kutuhale
Hunkara karoye Krishna-abeshera tyeje
Ye dhvani Brahmanda bhedi Vaikuntha te baje
(Chaitanya Bhagavata, Adi, 2.81-82)
–
He (Advaita Acharya) incessantly served Lord Krishna with the help of Tulasi Manjari and Ganges water. Being empowered by the strength of Lord Krishna, He roared loudly. The sound of His loud roars penetrated the coverings of this material universe and resounded in Vaikuntha (spiritual world).
In Chaitanya Bhagavata , the Lord reveals to His associates that it was Advaita Acharya, who had called upon Him and caused Him to descend from vaikuntha (‘mohare anila nada vaikuntha thakiya…’). Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja mentions in Chaitanya Charitamrta, that the merciful Lord Chaitanya had spread the sankirtana movement through Advaita Acharya and had delivered the world through Him.
yanra dvara kaila prabhu kirtana prachara
yanra dvara kaila prabhu jagata nishtara
(Chaitanya Caritamrta, Adi – 6.35)
Read more about the life and pastimes about Rasikananda Murari and his Sripat at Gopiballavpur – https://thegaudiyatreasuresofbengal.com/2019/02/10/gopiballavpur-preaching-headquarters-sri-rasikananda-murari/
To know more about Bishnupur and its rich Gaudiya Vaishnava history, refer to the below articles –
- Srinivasa Acharya and Bir Hambir : https://thegaudiyatreasuresofbengal.com/2018/01/09/glories-bishnupur-temple-town-bengal-part-1-srinivasa-acharya-bir-hambir/
- Amazing pastimes of Madan Mohan : https://thegaudiyatreasuresofbengal.com/2018/01/12/glories-bishnupur-temple-town-bengal-part-2-amazing-pastimes-sri-madanamohana/
- Bishnupur , Temple town of Bengal – Temples and their rich history : https://thegaudiyatreasuresofbengal.com/2018/01/13/glories-bishnupur-temple-town-bengal-part-3-ancient-sites/
The spiritual grandeur of Mayapur and Nabadwip dham is unlimited and unfathomable. It is said that even the likes of Brahma are powerless to effectively reach its ends (Nabadwip mandalera mahima apara brahma adi nahi jane varne sadhya kara). It is for this reason that Nabadwip Mandala, at whose center shines Sri Dham Mayapur, is gloried as the essence of all holy abodes (‘sarva Dhama sar’). One who understands the transcendental nature of this holy dham, achieves the highest spiritual perfection (‘Sri-Gauda-mandala-bhumi yeba jane chintamani ,tara haya vraja-bhume vasa’). We have covered the details and discussed at great lengths about the numerous ancient holy sites of Mayapur Nabadwip dham and their great significance in two of our books – Sri Nabadwip Bhava Taranga – Waves of ecstatic moods in Nabadwip & An ecstatic ride across ancient spiritual Bengal – Part 3: Nadia & Kalna Archives. In this article, we are going to try and summarize some of the more prominent and easily accessible spiritual sites of Mayapur Nabadwip dham. One who yearns to discover more details about these holy sites and relish their transcendental wealth, however, is herein advised to go through the above books.
“What one attains by travelling to all the holy places is attained just by remembering the transcendental abode of Nabadwip ” –
Nabadwip Dham Mahatmya
According to Sri Gaura Gannodesha Deepika, Kolavecha Sridhar is none other than the incarnation of Kusumasavah, one of the twelve famous cowherd boys (Dvadasha Gopala) of Vrindavana. Sridhara was his name and he was nicknamed ‘Kolavecha’, as he traded banana and banana products for a living (‘kola’ translates to banana’ in Bengali). In Mahaprabhu’s nectarean pastimes, Kolavecha was a very poor man, who wore shredded clothes and lived in a broken hut with leaks in the roof. Kolavecha was so impoverished that he slept on the floor and drank from a broken water pot. Lord Chaitanya was very fond of Kolavecha and devised new means of teasing him daily. In this way, Nimai engaged in mischievous pastimes with His beloved servant.
On the orders of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Sri Nityananda and Haridasa Thakura, went over to each and every house in Nabadwip and begged the residents to chant the holy name of Krishna. Some people took it well and assured them that they would indeed start chanting, while some considered them to be utter mad men. Some of them concluded that it was due to the bad association of Nimai pandita, that the two of them, Nitai and Haridasa, had got spoilt as well. Being unable to comprehend their transcendental mission, some people thought of them to be thieves.
Sri Ganga Narayan Chakravarti is considered to be the foremost of Narottama Das Thakura’s disciples. He appeared at a place called Jiaganj, which is situated a few stops from the Murshidabad station. Jiaganj was previously known as Gambhila and is renowned all over the world, as the sacred place where Narottama das Thakur subsequently merged into the Ganges and disappeared from this world. Sri Ganga Narayan was a very rich and famous person. He was a renowned scholar. He used to impart education unto hundreds of students daily. The great stalwart Sri Vishwanath Chakravarti Thakura was also one of his dedicated students.
‘The Gaudiya Treasures of Bengal’ has presented the life and pastimes of Narottama das Thakura in another of our articles entitled – ‘Kheturi, Rajshahi (Bangladesh) – Sripat of Sri Narottama das Thakura’. In this article, however, we are going to focus on Ganga Narayan Chakravarti and the Sripat of Gambhila.
Life and Pastimes of Ganga Narayan Chakravarti
Before surrendering himself unto Narottama das Thakura, Ganga Narayan Chakravarti was a puffed up scholar who used to look down upon Narottama. The reason being that Narottama, although belonging to a lower caste, initiated people who sometimes were even Brahmanas. Not only Ganga Narayan, but several people of that time, who failed to gauge the exalted position of Narottama das, indulged in his criticism.
Heading south from the Murshidabad railway station, we arrived at the exalted serene Dham of Kumarpur (also known as Kumarpara). Here are worshiped the mesmerizing Radha Madhava deities that were brought from Vrindavana, all the way to this place in the year 1609 AD, by a devotee named Vamsivadana Ghosh. This place is also renowned as Madhavi Kunja, as it was under this Madhavi lata tree (Hiptage benghalensis), that these deities were originally established. The old temple collapsed in course of time, and since then the deities have been shifted to the newly constructed adjacent temple. This Madhavi Tree still exists and can be taken darsana of, by anyone visiting this sacred place. The Ganges used to flow by this temple in the past but has now shifted a few kilometers from Madhavi Kunja. The small stream of water that continues to flow by the temple at present, is known as Motijheel.