Parikrama of Lord Sri Chaitanya- Gaud Mandal

Gaudiya Mission is delighted to invite you to explore the times and places related to Lord Sri Chaitanya. It is almost impossible to communicate any subject through a single book. Hence, the present book is a passport to the wonderful world of Lord Sri Chaitanya. It offers a basic understanding of facts and spaces related to Lord Sri Chaitanya.

In order to make the Vaishnav mapping of the Gaud Mandal, it would be incomplete not to mention the places related to Lord Nityananda and the Councillors of Lord Sri Chaitanya. Hence, third and fourth part of the book are dedicated to the set of places that His disciples moved about preaching the ultimate faith of love and compassion.

Lord Sri Chaitanya is the embodiment of unification of Sri Krishna (the Absolute Predominating Aspect) and Sri Radhika (the Absolute Predominated Moiety).

As a traveller, He undertook spiritual expeditions across the subcontinent before disappearing from Nilachal (popularly known as Puri) in 1534. These are known as Parikrama.

GAUDIYA Mission is delighted to invite you to explore the times and places related to Lord Sri Chaitanya. It is almost impossible to communicate any subject through a single book. Hence, the present book is a passport to the wonderful world of Lord Sri Chaitanya. It offers a basic understanding of facts and spaces related to Lord Sri Chaitanya.

The first part is dedicated to the Holy land of Navadvipa — a place that has been mentioned in the ancient scriptures of Vishnu Purana. Although the title suggest Parikrama meaning circumbulance of Lord Sri Chaitanya, the book starts with Navadvipa to give an understanding of the advent of His appearance, childhood and early youth.

The second part talks of the actual Parikrama. The Lord travelled to Gaud, Braj, the land that lies along the foot of the Himalayas and the Deccan and many other places adjacent to these areas. Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita gives a vivid account of these expeditions. In the present volume we have foucussed on the Gaud Mandal meaning the ancient Bengal. We wish to bring out separate voulmes on rest of the Parikrama.

The Vaishnav mapping of the Gaud Mandal would be incomplete if the place is related to Lord Nityananda and the Councillors of Lord Sri Chaitanya are not mentioned. Hence, third and fourth part of the book are dedicated to the set of places that His associates & followers moved about preaching the ultimate faith of love and compassion.

Keeping in mind, the need to offer the basic understanding of the beauty and existence of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, a couple of essays have been included at the end of the book along with a note on our Math (monastery).

It is difficult to recreate the past. By His blessings, Rathin Mitra a famous artist undertook the mission to depict the places related to Lord Sri Chaitanya through his celebrated line drawings. We are delighted to have the possession of his sketches for we felt, unlike photographs, these lines on white surface brings out the fragility and poetics of our mortal existence. In any case the real essence of a place can only be realised by visting it. We would like to thank Rathin Mitra for contributing these invaluable sketches to the existing library of Gaudiya collection. Shortly, we will open the door of world's first museum dedicated to Lord Sri Chaitanya to the public at the Gaudiya Mission, Baghbazar, Kolkata (Calcutta), India. A selection of original sketches will be on display in the museum.

Nothing is more attractive than having the illustrations of places which our beloved Lord Sri Chaitanya had set his foot on. A Bengali book has already included these images with the illustrator's note. The English version is the authentic texts validated by the Gaudiya Mission commissioned specially to Daastaan Media Communications. This version is rather meant for unlocking the huge treasure issued from the Holy presence of Lord Sri Chaitanya to the readers even without any prior knowledge of Vaishnavism or India. Now we invite you to step into the wonderful world of Lord Sri Chaitanya. Hare Krishna!

**Contents and Sample Pages**