Verse 3.4.5

Bengali text, Devanagari and Unicode transliteration of verse 3.4.5:

গৌডের নিকটে গঙ্গা-তীরে এক গ্রাম ব্রাহ্মণ-সমাজ-তার `রামকেলি’ নাম ॥ ৫ ॥

गौडेर निकटे गङ्गा-तीरे एक ग्राम ब्राह्मण-समाज-तार `रामकेलि’ नाम ॥ ५ ॥

gauḍera nikaṭe gaṅgā-tīre eka grāma brāhmaṇa-samāja-tāra `rāmakeli’ nāma || 5 ||

gaudera nikate ganga-tire eka grama brahmana-samaja-tara `ramakeli’ nama (5)

English translation:

(5) There is one village on the bank of the Ganges near the capitol of Gauḍa named Rāmakeli. The inhabitants of that village were all brāhmaṇas.

Commentary: Gauḍīya-bhāṣya by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura:

Śrī Rāmakeli is situated eight and a half miles south of English Bazaar, near the present city of Maldah. Within this village there is a concrete- paved area, and in the middle of this there is a large tamāla tree with two kadamba trees on each side of it. The two kadamba trees on the right side are referred to as Śrī Advaita Prabhu, the middle tamāla tree is referred to as Śrī Gaurasundara, and the two kadamba trees on the left side are referred to as Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. It is said that Śrīman Mahāprabhu first met Śrīla Rūpa and Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī Prabhus in the dead of night under this tree. Sitting in this place, Śrīman Mahāprabhu instructed Śrī Sanātana to join Him. Next to the kadamba trees there is a small temple wherein Śrī Madana-mohanadeva is worshiped. The Deity of Śrī Madana-mohanadeva was established by Śrī Rūpa and Sanātana. There are four sets of Deities within this temple. One of those sets is Śrī Baladeva and Revatī. The names of the Deities, from left, are (1) Vraja- mohana (with Rādhā), (2) Revatī-ramaṇa (with Revatī), and (3) Madana- mohana and (4) Gopīnātha (both with Rādhā). There are also śālagrāma- śilās in the temple. In the midst of the Deities there are two Deities of Śrī Gaurasundara, one of Śrī Advaita Prabhu, and one of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. There are one hundred twenty-five bighās of land (about forty- two acres) allotted to the service of the Deities. From the public a sum of one hundred twenty-two rupees was collected, out of which eighty rupees was given to the government.

North of the Śrī Madana-mohana temple is Śrī Sanātana-kuṇḍa. Around that place are eight other kuṇḍas headed by Rādhā-kuṇḍa, Śyāma-kuṇḍa, Lalitā-kuṇḍa, and Viśākhā-kuṇḍa. A little distance from here is a large

lake named Śrī Rūpa-sāgara, which was established by Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī. This Rūpa-sāgara is situated between the Śrī Madana-mohana temple and the court of Hussain Shah. The bathing ghāṭas of Rūpa-sāgara are covered with marble. On one of those marble slabs it is written: “This Rūpa-sāgara-ghāṭa of Śrī Rāmakeli was built in 1268 of the Bengali era from the donations of the mercantile communities of the Maldah district of Bengal. The water covers ten bighās (about three and a half acres), and with the banks it covers 20 bighās (about six and a half acres).”

About a quarter of a mile south of Śrī Rāmakeli is a large hall that is named Bāra-duyārī, because it has twelve doors. Up to 1801, during the time of Krent Sahib, the pillars of this hall were covered with gold. This hall is known by people as the court of Hussain Shah. It is said that Dabira Khāsa had his office in this court. There are four gateways situated on the four sides of this hall. It is said that the King used to enjoy hāoyā, or fresh air, at the Hāoyāsa-khāna-ghāṭa. It is further said that when Śrī Sanātana escaped from prison by giving seven thousand gold coins to the Yavana guard, he crossed the Ganges that night, came to this place, and began to cry out, “Śrī Gaurāṅga! Śrī Gaurāṅga!”At that time a crocodile came there and circumambulated Śrī Sanātana seven times. Śrī Sanātana then sat on the back of that crocodile and crossed the Ganges.

Śrī Gaṅgādevī presently flows about a half mile from the Śrī Madana- mohana temple. Apart from these, many glories of Hussain Shah Bādasāha are still present there. There is a dakhala-daraoyājā (the main entrance), a parikhā (the moat), and a phiroja khān (the oldest ruin—a tall tower from which one could see the entire city of ancient Gauḍa).

There are also ruins of the treasury, the library, and the Loṭana Mosque (which is one of the finest examples of architectural work). Before Moslem rule, this place was the capital of Lakṣmaṇa Sena known as Lakṣmaṇāvatī. Its ruins can still be seen here.

The capital of the Sena dynasty situated in the Maldah district was the capital of Gauḍa. The Ganges presently flows some distance from this place. The village of Rāmakeli is situated a short distance from the

capital of Gauḍa. Both Śrī Sanātana and Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī used to live in this village of Rāmakeli.