Nabadwip (/ˌnæbəˈdwiːp/) is a heritage town in Nadia district in the Indian state
of West Bengal. It is a holy place where Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was born. Famous for
Rass festival where the city is enlisted with lights, idols of God, and goddesses are
made on each corner of Nabadwip town. Hundreds of people gather in this small
town on the occasion of raas utsab. Located on the western bank of the Hooghly River, it is considered to have been
founded in 1063 CE and served as the old capital of the Sena dynasty. A center of learning and
philosophy in medieval India, the city is still noted for its traditional
Sanskrit schools. The Navya Nyaya school of logic reached
its peak with the efforts of some well known contemporary philosophers of
Nabadwip. The great Vaishnava saint,
social reformer, and an important figure of the Bhakti movement, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534)
was born here. It was after Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's birth that Nabadwip became
an important center of pilgrimage for the Vaishnavas worldwide as well as for
Hindus in general. Many who follow Gaudiya Vaishnavism visit
Nabadwip to celebrate the auspicious birthday day of Shri Mahaprabhu, which, as
per luna calculations, occurs on Phalguni Purnima (i.e. on the Full moon day
of February–March). This day is commonly known as Gaura-purnima.[3] Aside from this, Nabadwip
is visited for various other festivals like Dol yatra and Rasa purnima.
The Bhagirathi river originally
flowed down the west of Nabadwip in the past, forming a natural boundary
between the districts of Purba Bardhaman and Nadia. With time it has shifted its course to
where it is at present, cutting the city off from the rest of the Nadia
district.
Etymology
The name of the city is derived from the
conjugation of the Bengali words /naba/ (new) and /dwipa/ (island) meaning
New-island. In the down stream of the river Ganges, the alluvial deposits carried over during its course
that starts at the Himalayas, were gradually deposited, forming a new island
which is present day's Nabadwip. The name Nabadwip and Nadia has the same
connotation of the same geographical location flanked at west and north by
the Ganges at earlier times. Kabi
Karnapur used Nabadwip as Nabīna dbīpaṁ (Bengali: নবীন দ্বীপং), mean New Island in his
book Chaitanya Charitamritam .
The claim that the name Nabadwip refers to an
area comprising nine islets has no ground. There are many historical references
in this respect. Actually the misconception around the nomenclature of the name
"Nabadwip" arose since the publication of the book "Bhakti
Ratnakar" of Narahari Chakraborty. Hence "Nabadwip" i.e. nine
islands, namely Antardwip, Simantadwip, Rudradwip, Madhyadwip, Godrumdwip,
Ritudwip, Jahnudwip, Modadrumdwip, and Koladwip. However again, it is to
mention that all these islands are loosely scattered over a vast geographical
area that the Historians do not approve of the idea as being
"Nabadwip".
History
Although significant examples of the history of Nabadwip have been found since the Sen dynasty, various historians have been referring to Nabadwip in the Pala period and the Shura dynasty. English historian John Clark Marshman mentioned Nabadwip as the capital of Adishur.
Sena era
It is known from the Deopara
stone slab of Rajshahi district that Raja Samanta Sena,
a resident of Karnataka, lived in the Ganges-Pulin in his last years when he
was defeated by his tenants and zamindars.
According to the eminent historian Harprasad Shastri, Samanta Sen lived on the shores of Bhagirathi, probably in Nabadwip in his last years. Prior to Gour, Nabadwip was the capital of Sena dynasty during the reigns of Ballal Sen and Lakshman Sen. They ruled Bengal from here in the period from 1159 to 1206. The Ballal Dhipi in the Bamanpukur area adjacent to Nabadwip, which is associated with the history of Sen dynasty, has been protected by the Archaeological Survey of India.[11] During the reign of Lakshman Sen, in 1202 AD, Bakhtiyar Khalji invaded and plundered Nabadwip and defeated Lakshman Sen. This victory paved the way for Muslim rule in Bengal. At that time the prosperity of Nabadwip was particularly damaged. During the Muslim rule, various temples, golden monasteries and idols of Bengal and Nabadwip were destroyed.
Chaitanya era[edit]
 |
| Birth Place of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Nabadwip |
Next centuries[edit]
Buno Ramnath, Shankara Tarkabagish and other scholars and
logicians made the name of Nabadwip famous in the eighteenth century. Shakti worship
spread in Nabadwip during the time of Raja Krishnachandra of Nadia royal family.
During the reign of Raja Krishnachandra Roy and later Raja Girish Chandra, the
popularity, glory and pomp of Shakta Rash increased.
Various temples and idols were established in that time.
Geography
Demographics[edit]
In the 2011 census, Nabadwip Urban Agglomeration had a population of 175,474, out of which 90,810 were males and 84,664 were females. The 0–6 years population was 8,388. In education section, total literates in Nabadwip city are 102,793 of which 55,569 are males while 47,224 are females. Average literacy rate of Nabadwip city is 87.75 percent of which male and female literacy was 91.14 and 84.07 percent. Total children (0-6) in Nabadwip city are 8,388 as per figure from Census India report on 2011. There were 4,329 boys while 4,059 are girls. The child forms 6.68% of total population of Nabadwip City.
The following municipality and census towns were part of Nabadwip Urban Agglomeration in 2011 census: Nabadwip (M), Char Maijdia (CT), Char Brahmanagar (CT), Bablari Dewanganj (CT), Tiorkhali (CT), Gadigachha (CT) and Majdia.
As of 2001 India census,[20] Nabadwip
had a population of 115,036. Males constitute 51% of the population and females
49%. Nabadwip has an average literacy rate of 75%, higher than the national
average of 59.5%: male literacy is 80%, and female literacy is 70%. In
Nabadwip, 9% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Religion
Hinduism is
majority religion in Nabadwip city with 98.97% followers. Islam is second most
popular religion in city of Nabadwip with approximately 0.79% following it. In
Nabadwip city, Christianity is followed by 0.04%, Jainism by 0.00%, Sikhism by
0.01% and Buddhism by 0.00%. Around 0.01% stated Other Religion,
approximately 0.18% stated No Particular Religion.
Festival
Left:
Gourangini Mata in Rash jatra; Right: Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda,
is shown performing a 'kirtan' in the streets of Nabadwip, Bengal.
Many festivals are celebrated in Nabadwip throughout the year. Among them Shakta Rash, Dol Purnima Ratha Yatra are the most popular religious festivals in Nabadwip. Other major festivals are Kali Puja, Durga Puja, Gaura-purnima (the birthday of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu), Shiber Biye, Gajan, Pohela Boishakh, Jhulan Purnima, etc. An extinct festival of Nabadwip is Dhulōṭa (Bengali: ধুলোট). It is the general conference of Kirtaniyas, occurred in month of Magh. Typically, it is a thirteen-day-long Sankirtana, performed by renowned Kirtaniyas from all over Bengal who gathered in Nabadwip at that time.[
Shakta Rash
See also: Shakta Rash
Shakta Rash is the most celebrated age-old festival of Nabadwip, celebrated thirty-five days after the autumnal Durga puja celebration, or fifteen days after Kali puja in Kartik Purnima. The main feature of the the festival is to make huge idols of different types of goddesses and to worship Shakti. After the patronize of Raja Krishnachandra Roy and mainly Girish Chandra Basu, Nabadwip Shakta Rash became more popular and glorious.
Rath Yatra
Left: Notkona fruit, especially found in Ratha Yatra in Nabadwip; Right: The Ratha-Yatra of Jagannath In Nabadwip features unusual images with hands.
Although Ratha Yatra is the main festival of Odisha, it still Nabadwip has the pride of Ratha Yatra because of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Nearly 20-25 Ratha Chariots are bloom on this occasion. Here in Nabadwip, one can found some exceptions like full hand idols of Lord Jagannatha. Here another specialty is a fruit called "Notkona" which is especially found in this eve, mainly brought from Assam. This Fruit is a vital part of the Eastern part of Bengali.
Civic
administration
Police station
Nabadwip police station has
jurisdiction over Nabadwip municipality and the Nabadwip CD block. The
total area covered by the police station is 102.94 km2 and
the population covered is 260,843 (2001 census).
Education[
There are a total of 18 high
and higher secondary schools in Nabadwip, Notables among them are Nabadwip Bakultala High School (1875),
Nabadwip Hindu School (1873), Nabadwip Siksha Mandir (H.S), R.C.B
Saraswatmandir, Jatiya Vidyalaya, Tarasundari Girls High School, Nabadwip
Bakultala Girls High School, Nabadwip Balika Vidyalaya, Sudarshan High School
and Techno India School etc. There is a college namely Nabadwip
Vidyasagar College (in the name of the Great Social Reformer
and the Father of Bengali Prose) affiliated under University of Kalyani.
Climate
In summer, i.e. from April to June, the weather remains hot and temperature ranges from maximum of 35 °C to minimum of 26 °C. Monsoon season prevails during beginning-June to mid-September. Also retrieving monsoon from mid-October till mid-November.
The weather is quite pleasant, the summers and winters are
moderate. The level of moisture increases during summers.
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