| Sri Devananda Gaudiya Math | |
|---|---|
श्री देवानंद गौडीय मठ, শ্রী দেবানন্দ গৌড়ীয় মঠ
| |
The Spire of Sri Devananda Gaudiya Math, Nabadwip, West Bengal
| |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Hinduism |
| District | Nadia |
| Deity | Sri Gauranga, Radha Vinod Bihari Jiu, Lakshmi Varahadev, Jagannath Dev, Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Prabhupad, Bhakti Prajnana Keshav Goswami Thakur, Bhakti Vedanta Baman Goswami Maharaj |
| Festivals | Dolyatra, Ratha Yatra, Jhulan-Janmashtami, Bhakti Prajnan Keshav Goswami Maharaj and Bhakti Vedanta Vaman Goswami Maharaj's Vyas Puja & Tirobhav Mahotsav |
| Location | |
| Location | Teghori Pada |
| State | West Bengal |
| Country | India |
| Geographic coordinates | 23°23′52″N 88°21′47″E / 23.3976678°N 88.3629921°E / 23.3976678; 88.3629921 |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Hindu temple architecture |
| Creator | Srila Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja |
| Completed | 1940 |
| Website | |
| www | |
Sri Devananda Gaudiya Math (also Matha, or Mutt) is situated at Teghori Pada in Nabadwip dham of district Nadia in the West Bengal state of India, and is a matha and prominent holy place of the Gaudiya Vaishnavas, as well the headquarters of the Sri Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti. It is located in the middle of the place earlier known as Koladvipa. The Math has been continuing as a famous religious spot thronged by thousands of devotees every year.[1]
The Sri Gaudiya Vedanta SamitiorGaudiya Vedanta Samiti (GVS) is the one of oldest Gaudiya Vaishnava missionary and monastic organisations, established in 1940 in British India. Its founder-president-acharya became Srila Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja.[2][3]
In April 1940, after the prominent guru-reformer Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada entered aprakata-lila (departure), Srila Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja as one of his disciples and former member of the defunct Gaudiya Math, established the Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti (lit. "Gaudiya Vedanta Society") in a rented building in Calcutta. He later purchased an extensive piece of land at Nabadwip on which he established Sri Devananda Gaudiya Math with a beautiful temple. The Math became the headquarters of a new mission with branches across India, predominantly in West Bengal, Assam and Odisha.
The monks, whose sannyasa guru was Srila Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja, received the name Bhakti Vedanta, one of them, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the ISKCON.[3][4]
According to official website of the organisation, its present president-acharya is Bhakti Vedanta Budhayan Goswami since 2020.
The following deities preside in the five chambers of the temple and samadhi mandir respectively:
Temple
Samadhi
The temple's nine towers each represent one limb of nava-vidha-bhakti, the nine types of devotional service.
The matha is divided into the following nine parts (khandas):
These sections are divided on the basis of activities favourable to bhakti, which are to be accepted and those unfavourable which are to be avoided. Jnana and karma which are devoid of bhakti are always to be rejected just as one rejects stools. For this reason the bathrooms and latrines of the matha are called Jnana-khanda.
It was Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami's long-held desire that a deity of Sri Koladeva be established on the Ganga's western bank in the old Kuliya-nagara. To fulfill this desire, Srila Bhakti Prajnana kesava Gosvami Maharaja has manifested the service of Sri Koladeva at the place.
(Pre-ISKCON and sannyasa guru of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.[3][4]
