Ekachakra | |
|---|---|
village | |
 Ekachakra dharm, the location where the Pandavas are said to have stayed. | |
  Ekachakra Location in West Bengal, India Show map of West Bengal Ekachakra Ekachakra (India) Show map of India | |
| Coordinates:24°03′41″N87°50′52″E / 24.061434°N 87.847789°E /24.061434; 87.847789 | |
| Country |  India |
| State | West Bengal |
| District | Birbhum |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Bengali,English |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| Website | birbhum |
Ekachakra is a small village, located 20 km away from the town ofRampurhat in theBirbhum District ofWest Bengal.[1] WithinHindu tradition, the fivePandavas from the epic,Mahabharata are described as staying in Ekachakra during their years in exile.[2] It is also famous as the birthplace ofNityananda Rama[1] (b 1474 CE), a principal religious figure in theGaudiya Vaishnava tradition.
The village extends north and south for an area of about eight miles. Other villages, namely Viracandra-pura and Virabhadra-pura, are situated within the area of the village of Ekacakra. In honor ofVirachandra Goswami (the son of Nityananda), these places are renowned as Viracandra-pura and Virabhadra-pura.
The origin of the name Ekachakra is associated with the legend of thePandavas. In the battle of KurukshetraKrishna broke his vow of not actively participating in the war as a warrior and rushed with chariot wheelchakram to help his devoteeArjuna, and slayBhishma who had been fighting with Arjuna but not losing. When Bhishma satisfied him with many beautiful prayers, Krishna lost his anger and tossed aside the chariot wheel chakram. The chakram fell on this tract of land and therefore got the nameEkachakra.Eka means one, andchakra means chakram.[citation needed]
In theMahabharata, it is also believed to be the place where DemonBakasura lived who was later slain byBhima. However, there are several places all over India which contest as ancient Ekachakra.
Ekachakra is located at24°03′41″N87°50′52″E / 24.061434°N 87.847789°E /24.061434; 87.847789.
This is said to be the actual birthplace ofNityananda.[citation needed] In the JanmasthanMandir there is a deity of Nitai (Nityananda) worshipped by a localbrahmin family. Hadai Pandita Bhavan is the site of the original house of Nityananda's father. The small white temple next to Nitai Kund marks the exact spot where Nityananda was born. There are twobanyan trees by this temple that are said to have existed since the time of Nityananda.
In the center of the main altar of the temple is adeity of Lord Nityananda. To his left, with his hands raised, isChaitanya Mahaprabhu. On Nityananda's right isAdvaita Acharya. The side altar has deities ofRadha-Radhakanta and Radha-Srikanta, a large dancingGouranga in the center, and ten brass sakhis at the bottom. The temple was constructed by Prasannakumara Karapharma.
There is an oldPippala tree here called 'Mala Tala'. Just before Nityananda departed the village in his youth, Hadai Pandita came here and chantedjapa under this tree. Mala means "japa beads" and tala means "tree." When Nitai was about to depart Hadai Pandita left his japa beads here due to anxiety.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came to Ekacakra many years after Nityananda left. It is said that at that time Chaitanya left his flowergarland on a branch of this tree. Mala also means "garland." Therefore, also for this reason this tree was called Mala Tala.[citation needed]
(Also known as Jahnu Kund) It is said that Nitai brought all thesacred waters from all the holy places to thiskunda to save the local residents from having to journey to theGanges to take a sacred bath. It is named Hantugada because Nityananda Prabhu used to perform the Cida-dahi festival of distributing chipped rice with yogurtprasadam here and He would take the prasada while kneeling down.[citation needed]
This place is a five-minute walk (400m) into the fields, southeast of Nityananda's birthplace. It is surrounded by a group of Keli-kadamba trees. ThePandavas are said to have lived here with their mother,Kunti, when they were exiled to the forest.[citation needed]
The currentdeity within the Bankima Raya temple was found by Nityananda himself, within the Yamuna river of Ekachakra.The deity was then installed in a temple that is now submerged within Jahnu kunda.Nityananda is believed to have merged within this deity at the time of his disappearance.The present temple of Bankima Raya is also an old one.The deity ofJahnava Mata (Nityananda's wife) was placed beside him.In this temple there is also a small samadhi ofVirachandra Goswami.
Ekchakra Dham is located in Birchandrapur, in theBirbhum district ofWest Bengal,India. The site can be easily reached using various modes of transportation:
The closest railway station isRampurhat Junction, situated roughly 20 km from Ekchakra Dham. Rampurhat has good rail connectivity with major cities in West Bengal and other parts of India. Local transport such as taxis or buses is available from the station to the site.
The Dham is well connected via roadways. It is approximately:
20 km fromRampurhat
116 km fromDurgapur
212 km fromKolkata
Visitors from South Bengal can travel toTarapith orRampurhat usingSBSTC state buses or private buses and then take local transport to reach Ekchakra Dham. Similarly, those coming from North Bengal can useNBSTC or private buses toRampurhat and continue their journey via local transport to the destination.
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