Mayapur
Mayapur (Bengali: মায়াপুর) is located on the banks of the Ganges river, at the point of its confluence with the Jalangi, near Navadvip, West Bengal, India, 130 km north of Kolkata (Calcutta). It is The Head Quarters of ISKCON and is considered a holy place by a number of other traditions within Hinduism, but is of special significance to followers of Gaudiya Vaishnavism as the birthplace of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, regarded as a special incarnation of Krishna in the mood of Radha. It is visited by over a million pilgrims annually.
Being an important religious center, Mayapur has many temples dedicated to Vishnu and to other deities. The most important of all however is the beautiful Iskcon Temple also known as Sri Chaitanya Candrodaya Temple that attracts thousands of devotees and tourists from different parts of India and world. The temple has a statue of Lord Radha Krishna along with the eight gopis. It also houses an exhibition section, which depicts the life and work of Sri Chaitanya. The temple’s timings are from 7.30 am to 1 pm and from 4 pm to 8.30 pm.
Another place of interest is Sri Chaitanya Math located one kilometer past Sri Chaitanya's birthplace. Murari Gupta's House located behind the Sri Chaitanya Math near the bank of the Ballal Dighi is the place where deities of Rama, Sita and Hanuman were worshipped by Murari Gupta and his family. The Chand Kazi's Samadhi is another main landmark in Mayapur. Chand Kazi was the Muslim magistrate of Navadwip, who with his men broke the mridanga of Srivash Pandit. He had opposed the sankirtana movement where people collectively chanted Hare Rama, Hare Krishna on the road, but he later became the disciple of Sri Chaitanya. The Jagannath Mandir is another place worth checking out in Mayapur.
