Nidaya Ghata

Nidaya Ghata

This is where Lord Caitanya crossed the River Ganga on His way to Katwa to take sannyasa. He took sannyasa at the end of January in 1510, just before His 25th birthday. His sannyasa name was Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu. On the day that He decided to enter the sannyasa order, He informed only Nityananda Prabhu, Gadadhara Pandita, Saci-mata, Candrasekhara and Mukunda. The Lord got up during the night and prepared to leave home for the last time. As He approached the gate, Mother Saci was standing there like a statue. She was in total shock and her eyes were full of tears. She was unable to say anything to prevent Him from leaving. The Lord circumambulated Mother Saci three times and offered her His obeisance. He took some dust from her feet, then left home forever. After leaving home the Lord swam across the Ganga and went to Katwa. Nidaya means “without mercy”. The residents of Navadvipa accused the Lord of being without mercy for leaving them. 

Nidaya-ghata is on the eastern bank of the Ganga. There is a temple here established by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, which houses a deity of Lord Caitanya that he personally worshiped when he stayed in a straw hut in Mayapur. 

Nidaya Ghata

Directions: Follow the directions for Sankarapura. Instead of turning right to go over the bridge, continue walking straight ahead. You will walk along a path on the bank of a river (a backwater of the Ganga River). On the left you will see some bamboo growing and a path. The Rudradvipa Gaudiya Matha temple is at the end of this path. To go to the Nidaya-ghata, do not take the path on the left leading to the temple but proceed along the bank of the river. Take the first turning on the left, follow this path through the village and continue approximately one and a half kilometers until you come to the Ganga River. Nidaya-ghata is now under the waters of Ganga-devi. Another way to come here is by boat from Navadvipa-ghata to here and then walk one and a half kilometers to the Rudradvipa Gaudiya Matha.