Overview
Śrīla Bhāgavatācāryera Pāṭa (The Place of Śrīla Bhāgavatācārya) was first published in Sajjana Toṣaṇī, Vol. 10 issue 1 in 1898. This article followed a previous essay from Vol. 9 about Śrī Bhāgavatācārya and describes the famous pāṭhabāḍī in Kolkata where Bhāgavatācārya resided.
(translated by Swami B.V. Giri)
We have already published the account of Śrī Bhāgavatācārya and his relation to Śrīman Mahāprabhu. We will now tell the reader what we have learned from that visiting his residence. There is a village called Mālīpāḍā north of Varāhanagara. The pāṭhabāḍī (‘place of discourse on the Bhāgavatam’) of Śrī Bhāgavatācārya is still there. This pāṭhabāḍī is not on a small piece of land. It is not so far from the Jāhnavī, who removes all sins in the age of Kali. There are many brick houses of two floors inside and outside the pāṭhabāḍī. The magnificent Deities of Śrī Mahāprabhu and Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu are installed in a building. The yugala-mūrti of Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa are seated on a throne. There is a Deity of Gopāla and thirty-six śālagrāmas. There is a hallway in front of the building. The building is old and in need of renovation. There is a courtyard in front. In a small building there is Śrī Bhāgavatācārya’s seat along with his wooden shoes. Qualified brāhmaṇas reside in the inner court. The outer part of the residence is also very customarily covered. About two bighas (approx. 28800 square feet) of barren land is in front of the residence. Events such as festivals can take place here. The location is not far from the main road, but it is inside an alley. However, a light has been provided by the municipality. Horse-drawn carriages go into that alley.
The Gaṅgā is about 10 to12 bighās from the pāṭhabāḍī. Mahāprabhu has some land on the banks of the Gaṅgā. There is a new brick ghāṭa named Śrī Mahprabhu’s Ghāṭa. The place is very beautiful. Śrīyuta Rāja Candra Gaṅgopādhyāya Mahāśaya is the present owner. He has several sons. All are grandchildren of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu’s house. I saw garlands around everyone’s necks. Everyone cares for the improvement of the pāṭhabāḍī. This pāṭhabāḍī has been in the hands of the Vaiṣṇavas for a long time. The last Gaṅgopādhyāya Mahāśaya was deemed fit and the entire pāṭhabāḍī has been handed over to him by the registry office.
There are no obstacles in improving the pāṭhabāḍī. The service is in the hands of sampradāyika brāhmaṇas. They are not very wealthy. There is no specific way of improving this. If they try now, no doubt there will be some improvement. As far as we have seen, the sons of Gaṅgopādhyāya Mahāśaya seem to be very polite. We are searching further. I will inform the readers as much as I can. We have already said that there is no other Vaiṣṇava tīrtha near Calcutta. The Vaiṣṇavas of Calcutta, knowing the importance and history of this tīrtha, will take care of its upkeep.
We saw the book Kṛṣṇa-prema Taraṅgiṇī at the pāṭhabāḍī. This book is composed by Śrī Raghunātha Bhāgavatācārya with the meaning of Śrī Bhāgavata in the payāra metre. There is also a Sanskrit version of the book Śrī Kṛṣṇa-prema Taraṅgiṇī by Śrī Bhāgavatācārya. If we get another copy, we can publish it. I heard that the payāra version of the book is read with special care in Śrīdhāma Vṛndāvana. It will be good to print this book. We are consulting with Ganguli Mahāśaya concerning this.
(‘Śrīla Bhāgavatācāryera Pāṭa’ – The Place of Śrīla Bhāgavatācārya – was first published in Sajjana Toṣaṇī, Vol.10 issue 1 in 1898, and translated into English by Swami B.V. Giri)
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