tvam hi maya harehsakti-durghatana-patiyasicin-mayam
antar-adityamacchadayasi sampratamtato
mayapura-khyatiryoga-pithasya bhu-talepraudha
maya tava khyatihsarvatra vartate priye

Lord Siva said to goddess Parvati, “You are the maya potency of Lord Sri Hari who is expert in making impossible things possible. In the form of the external maya potency of the Lord you hide the sun-like Lord of Antardvipa from the vision of materialistic people.Therefore Yoga-pitha is known as Mayapur (the city of maya) on this earth planet. Mayapur is covered by maya so that nondevotees or materialistic people cannot see the brilliant Lord. Dear goddess, youare therefore famous as Praudha Maya everywhere.”

Sri Mayapur is situated in the center of Antardvipa. The circumference of Sri Mayapur measures three and a halfmiles and the diameter measures just over one mile.In his Navadvipa-bhava-taranga Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura glorifies Mayapur as follows:“To the south-west of Mayapur, the combined Ganga and Yamuna river spraise their own good fortune as they flow in the form of a serpent for rendering service to Lord Gaura, the jewel of the twice-born brahmanas.Upon the banks of the Ganga are many different landing-steps for bathing(ghatas) and also numerous temples,housing many deities such as Praudha Maya and Vriddha Siva, as well as many groves and gardens.

In Mayapur there are countless homes of the brahmanas, wide avenues,courtyards, forests and temples of Lord Siva. Flowing in the south-east are the incessant currents of the Sarasvati River. Upon her bank is the sacred area known as Isodyana, the Lord’s garden.Why should the fallen rascals of Kaliyuga,bound up tightly by material illusion, have the privilege of seeing allthese eternal, fully spiritual, limit less treasures of the divine realm? Maya has therefore hidden the dhama by means of the erosive, ever-changing nature of the three rivers Ganga,Yamuna and Sarasvati. Thus the eyes of a materialist can see only a shadow of the real Mayapur.

By the mercy of Sri Nityananda, the possessor of all spiritual powers, may that Mayapur be revealed unto my eyesimbued with proper reverence. May I, this worthless fool, become truly fortunate to behold a vision of the household pastimes of Sri Gauranga that eternally take place in this land. In the center of the island called Antardvipa is the village of Mayapur,situated as the central whorl of the eight petalled lotus. That transcendental abode glows with a fair yellow aura, it is resplendent with networks of effulgences, and is supremely pure. May this place always shimmer before my eyes.

Wooded groves can be seen here andthere. Among them stands a lake called Prithu-sarovara, and many pastures forgrazing the cows. Oh how beautiful these places are to behold! There are many water canals, partitioned grainfields, and wide main roads lined with bakula, kadamba, and many othertypes of large trees.