Sri Sarangadeva performed his bhajana in Mamgachi. He is also known as Sarngapani, Sarngadhara and Saranga Thakura. He used to worship the Supreme Lord in a secluded place on the bank of the Ganga. There is a temple here that is said to have been established by Saranga Thakura, in front of which is a large Bakula tree. This tree was present during the time of Sarangadeva, it has bark on the outside and is hollow inside. It is said that one day Lord Caitanya noticed that this Bakula tree was dying, so He embraced the tree and it came back to life completely, with green leaves and fragrant flowers. 

Saranga Thakura did not want to accept any disciples, but he was repeatedly inspired from within by the Supreme Lord to do so. One morning he decided that he would accept the first person that he saw as a disciple. When he went to take bath in the Ganga, a dead boy’s body was floating by and he touched it with his feet. This dead body immediately came back to life and Saranga Thakura accepted him as his disciple. The parents of the boy wanted their son to come back home, but the boy wanted to stay and serve his guru, Sri Saranga Thakura. This boy’s name was Murari and this sripata is known as Saranga Murari Sripata. The deity of Sri Gopinatha who was worshiped by Saranga Thakura is still worshiped here. The Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika describes that the identity of Saranga Thakura in krishna-lila is the gopi named Nandimukhi.

Directions: Return to the road, turn right and walk for a couple of minutes. There will be a pathway on one side of the road and a lake on the opposite side. The pathway is the entrance for the temple and the lake is what was left behind by the Ganga River which used to flow here during Lord Caitanya’s time. 

Vasudeva Datta’s original temple is close to Saranga Murari Thakura’s Sripata but the temple is no longer there. Sri Madana-Gopala deities worshiped by Vasudeva Datta are being worshiped now at Saranga Murari’s Sripata. Gaudiya Matha devotees are now managing this temple. 

Vasudeva Datta was the expansion of Prahlada Maharaja. Vasudeva Datta – brother of Mukunda Datta also was the resident of Chattagram… Vasudeva Datta used to live at the house of Srivas Pandit. In “Chaitanya bhagavat” it says that Lord Chaitania Mahaprabhu was so much pleased with Vasudeva Datta and loved him very much and used to say: “I completely belong to Vasudeva Datta. He may dispose Me as he like, and can even sell Me to anyone…” Vasudeva Datta initiated Yadunanda Acharya, the spiritual master of Raghunatha dasa, who later became a Raghunatha das Goswami…Vasudeva Datta used to spend money without counting them because of that Lord Chaitanya told Shivananda Sena to become his secretary and somehow to limit his expenditures.  All the earned money he used to spend for worshiping the Deities.

Vasudeva Datta was so kind to living entities that once he desired to take for himself all of their sins and requested Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to give to them liberation. “Dear Lord, when I see how living entities are suffering my heart breaks. Please,I beg ,You give to me their karma and liberate them all! I am ready to suffer for them.”

Hearing these words the heart of the Lord melted, tears flowed from His eyes, and His body trembled. With breaking words Lord answered:

“Whatever requests pure Devotee makes from his Master, Krishna definitely fulfills his wish. For you there is no need to suffer for their sins – they will be liberated just by your request…”

Srila Prabhupada used to tell: “No one can compete with Vasudeva Datta. He was a Vaishnava – para duhka dukhi – very sensitive to the sufferings of others. Such a Devotee by just his existence purifies whole world. Such a person is the real representative of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, because his heart is always filled with compassion to conditioned souls.” (Chaitanya Charitamrita”, Madhya, 15.163, purport.)

We can pray to Vasudeva Datta in order to cultivate this similar compassion.

Directions from Modadruma Gaudiya Matha: Leaving the Modadruma Gaudiya Matha, turn right onto the road and walk for a few minutes until you reach the first path on the right. Walk down this path as it turns to the left and then to the right. A short distance ahead on the left, you will see a small pond amongst some overgrown bushes. Opposite that is a small pathway going into a bushy area. Approximately seven meters inside this area is the place where the original temple of Madana Gopala used to be. This is also the area where Vasudeva Datta lived. The deity can now be seen in the Saranga Deva Gaudiya Matha. 

Srila Vrindavana dasa Thakura, the author of Sri Caitanya- bhagavata, took birth in Modadrumadvipa. He is an incarnation of Vedavyasadeva, and was a disciple of Sri Nityananda Prabhu. He had many disciples, including Gopinatha Brahmacari, a descendant of Sri Kesava Bharati. His mother was Narayani-devi, the niece of Srivasa Pandita. When she was four years old she received the remnants of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s food directly from His own hand. When Lord Krishna was a child, He was nursed by a woman named Ambika who had a younger sister named Kilimbika. According to Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika, Kilimbika was Narayani.

Practical Guide The deities that Vrindavana dasa Thakura worshiped, Nitai- Gauranga and Sri Jagannatha, are worshiped here in Mamgachi. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Maharaja established the Modadruma Gaudiya Matha in Mamgachi. 

Directions: Vrindavana dasa Thakura hails from the village of Mamgachi, which is about one mile from the Purvasthali railway station and not far from the Navadvipa railway station.

Birthplace of Malini-devi : 

This is where the wife of Srivasa Pandita, Malini-devi, was born. It is near Vrindavana dasa Thakura’s birthplace. When Lord Caitanya took sannyasa all these devotees left Antardvipa and came to live in Sri Modadrumadvipa. 

Isana Thakura continued, “In the Maugachi village Lord Sri Gaurasundara exhibited a wonderful pastime which was not visible to other people. There was one vipra living at this place who was a great worshiper of Lord Ramacandra. That vipra was present in the house of Jagannatha Misra on the day Visvambhara took birth. At that time all the demigods were glorifying the occasion saying ‘jaya, jaya.’ This vipra was a little puzzled to see so many other vipras present there and thought to himself that his Lord must definitely have appeared, ‘This Jagannatha Misra must be King Dasaratha and Saci-mata must be Kausalya herself, the mother of all creation.’ Stunned, he left the house of Jagannatha Misra without saying anything to anyone and returned to his own house. While he was meditating upon his worshipable Lord Ramacandra in His greenish durvadala form, he saw the wonderful golden form of the son of Jagannatha Misra. While seeing this he fell asleep and in his dream Lord Gauracandra appeared to him. His bodily effulgence defeated even the splendor of a golden mirror. His beautiful face was mocking the beauty of the moon. His arms extended to His knees. His chest was very broad and His long eyes reached to His ears, making the Lord very attractive. He had beautiful, fine, curling hair and His head was decorated with a variety of flower garlands. His neck was surrounded with most wonderful brahminical threads. His body was so beautiful that one cannot compare it to another in this world. The Lord was sitting on a ratna-simhasana (jeweled throne) and before Him many demigods led by Brahma were offering prayers. As the vipra was looking upon this scene with great joy, he suddenly saw that Gauracandra had changed to the nava-durva-dala form of Lord Ramacandra. The son of Kausalya was pleasing the whole world with His most attractive royal dress. He was smiling, holding a bow and arrows in His hands. On the left of Lord Ramacandra, Sitadevi was standing and Lakshmana was holding an umbrella. In front of Them Hanuman, the son of Vayu-deva, was sitting with folded hands in a humble posture. Upon witnessing this beautiful form of Lord Ramacandra, the vipra fell to the ground, offering repeated obeisances. Bhakta-vatsala Prabhu, Lord Ramacandra, is the storehouse of good qualities and He blessed the vipra abundantly before disappearing. Being deprived of the Lord’s darsana, the vipra woke up and became very worried, losing control of his senses. Seeing this situation, the Lord appeared to him again to console him and forbade him to reveal this to anyone. The vipra was thus pacified and very pleased. He did not say anything to anyone about his darsana of Sri Gauracandra.” Isana Thakura concluded, “This very old vipra, due to being merciful upon me, revealed this fact to me in a solitary place at the time of his death. What can I say about his wonderful qualities? Just see the residence of this vipra. By seeing this place one becomes free from the fear of material existence. Here Lord Gauracandra manifested His Ramacandra pastimes which I have personally seen.”