Ambika Kalna Visit (2018) (Album of photos)
Ambika Kalna is most famous among the Gaudiyas as the place of Gauridasa Pandita’s Deities of Gaura Nitai, which were the first ever of Their Deities. Many other ancient marvels are there.
Arjun Bhattacharyya: Kalna is located at the East Burdwan District of West Bengal. Named after a very popular deity, Goddess Ambika, the town is more popularly known as Ambika Kalna. The place has numerous historical monuments and temples but it also has an important chapter in our Gaudiya history. Sri Gauridas Pandit used to reside in Ambika Kalna. Before taking sanyas, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu along with Lord Nityananda came to visit Gauridas Pandit by boat paddling Themselves. Lord Caitanya kept the oar in His hand, and when He entered Gauri dasa’s house He gave it to him and told him that with the oar he should cross over the ocean of material existence, taking all the living entities with him. We were very fortunate to take darshan of the oar along with Mahaprabhu’s original writings which are kept very nicely at Sri Gauranga Mandir. At the request of Gauridas Pandit, Mahaprabhu gave him life-size Deities, which are the first Deities of Gaura Nitai. Unfortunately, photography was not allowed there. We also visited the spot where Mahaprabhu rested in Kalna and saw His lotus footprint there. Then we paid a short visit at Suryadas Pandit’s Sripath where Lord Nityananda got married and took darshan of His stick. We were charmed by the amazing Gaura-Nitai Deities there. Before leaving we were very fortunate to visit some of the historical monuments such as Rajbari temples and Nava Kailash or 108 Shiva Temples which all are built around the 17-19th Century. We were amazed to see the Terracotta plaques on many of them.
Find them here: https://goo.gl/3wXkPx