Kāṭwā

Place where Mahāprabhu took Sannyāsa

Kāṭwā is situated in the district of Bardhamān. In Bandel-Kāṭwā railway route one can get down at Kāṭwā Junction and travel towards east of the station and can reach this Śripāṭa known as Gaurāṅga House or Gaurāṅga Temple. The temple is situated little inside from the main road towards north. Mahāprabhu took sannyāsa from Keśava Bhāratī in the waxing moon of Māgha month (January-February) in the year 1431 and exhibited many transcendental pastimes at this place. This place is still present and is carrying the tradition of Mahāprabhu's loving transcendental pastimes. This place is also called Mahāprabhu's abode. One of the main servants of Mahāprabhu named Dāsa Gadādhara came from Āḍiyādaha at his old age and lived here. He installed the Deities of Śrī Śrī Nitāi-Gaura and started worshiping Them. Śrī Rāmagopāla Dāsa described in ‘Narahari Śākhā Nirṇaya’ about the installed Deities of Śrī Śrī Nitāi-Gaura at Kāṭwā-

“vidyānanda paṇḍita nāma paṇḍite akiñcana
gadādhara ṭhākurera hana kṛpāra bhājana

kanṭaka nagara haya mahāprbhura sthāna
tomā sevā svīkāra karivena caitanya bhagavāna

ṭhākura ājñāya ṭhākura laiyā āilā
vanera bhitare eka jhupaḍi vāndhilā

bhikṣāra cāula āra tole vanya śāka
tāhāra gharani yatne kare annapāka

sei bhojane tusṭa hana śacira nandana
āra eka kathā bali śona diyā mana

ekadina viracandra goṅsāñi āilā
paṇḍitera sevā dekhi santusṭa hailā

vidyānande ājñā dilā nā yāha bhikṣāte
ghare basi susāra have tomāra sevāte

saṁkrānti pūrṇimāya yātrī āise sakala tādera
bhikṣāya pūrṇa haya paṇḍitera ghara

keha jalādhāra deya suvarṇera jhāḍi
ratnabhūṣaṇa keha keha bhojanera thāli

kāhākeo ājñā karena mandira tumi deha
dine dine sevā bāḍe apūrva kathā seha”

“Vidyānanda Paṇḍita considers himself as a humble and modest learned man and he becomes eligible to get mercy from Gadādhara Ṭhākura. Kanṭaka-nagara is the abode of Mahāprabhu and He will accept your service. He brought the Deity by the instructions of prabhu and built a small hut inside the forest. His wife cooks the rice collected by begging and pot-herbs plucked from the forest. The son of Sacī is pleased by eating this pot-herb and rice. Now, listen to another story attentively. One day Vīracandra Gosñāi came to his place and is pleased by seeing his service mood. He instructed Vidyānanda not to go outside for begging alms. Because of your service, your needs will be fulfilled by sitting in the house. All the visitors come on the full-moon day at the end of the month and Paṇḍita’s house becomes full with their donations. Someone gives water-pot and someone gives gold items. Some give jewelry and some give eating plates. He instructs some people to build a temple. Thus, the service increases day by day which is a very unprecedented event indeed.”

Nityānanda’s potency Īśvarī Jāhṇvāmātā came to this place with Her associates while She was going to the Kheturi festival. At that time, Mahāprabhu’s servant Yadunandana Cakravartī was present here. At this place, Śrīnivāsa Ācārya and Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura had darśana of Gadādhara. Dāsa Gadādhara left this world from here on the twelfth day of the waning moon in the month of Kārtika (October-November). Śrīnivāsa Ācārya joined the festival of the said disappearance day and at that time all the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Mahantas assembled there. Yadunandana Cakravartī gave appropriate reception to all the assembled associates of Gaurāṅga in that great festival celebrated over three days on seventh, eighth and ninth-day of the fortnight. Kāṭwā Dhāma was resounded with Harināma Saṅkīrtana. The first conference of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas was held here. After that, Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava conference was held in Śrīkhaṇḍa and then in Kheturi.

The beloved of Gopīnāthadeva was not present at His side when mother Jāhṇavā first went to Vṛndāvana. After returning to Bengal, She got the beloved of Gopīnāthadeva, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and Lalitā Devī carved by Nayana sculptor. She sent these Deities to Vṛndāvana through Śrī Parameśvara Dāsa by boat. At that time Parameśvara Dāsa reached the Ghāṭa of Keśava Bhāratī while traveling through the Ganges by boat. Śrīnivāsa Ācārya came from Yājīgrāma and saw the Deities along with the king Vīrahāmvīra. Vīrahāmvīra, the king of Viṣṇupura, donated plenty of wealth and clothes. This event has been described in Bhakti Ratnākara (13/82-83)-

kanṭaka nagare śīghra upanīta hailā,
śrī keśava bhāratī goṅsāira ghāṭe āilā

dekhena-se ghāṭe naukā āila seikṣaṇe
haila mahānanda paraspara sammilane

It is described in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya- līlā, 3/3) about Śrīman Mahāprabhu-

cavviśa vatsara-śesa yei māgha-māsa
tāra śukla pakṣe prabhu karilā sannyāsa

In the month of Māgha (January-February) during the waxing moon, Mahāprabhu accepted the renounced order of life after completing twenty four years of His life.

Because of that, every year a special festival is arranged here for three days from the day of the waxing moon in the month of Māgha in memory of Mahāprabhu's taking sannyāsa. At the right side just after entering the temple is situated the samādhi of Dāsa Gadādhara. On the left is the place where Mahāprabhu’s head was shaved. Just after crossing a small distance in the front is the place where Mahāprabhu took sannyāsa and received the name Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya. The samādhi of Keśava Bhāratī is also here. He appeared in Denūḍa in the year 1380 Śakābda. Beside the samādhi of Keśava Bhāratī is the samādhi of Śrī Madhu barber. The installed Deities in the temple are Śrī Śrī Gaura Nitāi and Jagannātha Deva. The Deity of Mahāprabhu is taller than that of Nityānanda Prabhu’s. The Deity of Jagannātha Deva is situated on the left of Mahāprabhu. There are thirty two Gosvāmī families here who are the worshipers of this temple. They make themselves known as the descendants of Yadunandana Ṭhākura.