Siddha Bakula is located near Gambhira Temple on Bali Sahi road. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu personally arranged for Srila Haridasa Thakura to reside at this place. This is the place where he performed his daily bhajana of chanting 192 rounds (3,00,000 names) of Hare Krishna maha-mantra:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare |
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare ||
Since Haridas could not enter the Jagannatha Temple, being of a Muslim family, Sri Caitanya requested Haridasa, “Remain here and chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. I shall personally come here to meet you daily. Remain here peacefully, and look at the cakra on top of Lord Jagannatha’s temple and offer obeisances. As far as your Prasadam, I shall arrange to have that sent here.” In order to provide shade for Thakur Haridasa, Sri Caitanya planted a used tooth stick of Lord Jagannatha. All of a sudden it grew up and appeared as a great shade tree. When Srila Rupa Goswami visited Jagannatha Puri, Mahaprabhu allocated him a residence here with Thakura Haridas. Rupa Gosvami recited Lalitha Madhava and Vidagdha Madhava under this tree before Sri Gauranga and his followers. During his stay Sanatana Gosvami also lived here. Haridasa Thakur left his body here.
There is a small temple featuring a murti of namacarya Srila Haridas Thakura in a sitting pose chanting japa. The site has extraordinary bakula tree winding and climbing around the courtyard. Tree looks like it exploded or it appears like petrified wood; completely dead. Yet it is wonderfully flourishing with lush green leaves and fragrant flowers. In another temple altar is Sadbhuja Gauranga (six-armed Gauranga) in the middle and Sri Nityananda Prabhu and Advaita Acarya. There is also a Deity of Lord Nrsimhadeva.
Holy site of Siddha-Bakula is extraordinary in its potency; not only did the tree sprout from the maha-prasadam toothbrush of Sri Jagannatha Deva, planted by the lotus hand of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, but it was the residence of Namacarya Srila Haridasa Thakura. Here, Lord Caitanya discussed with Srila Haridasa Thakura the yuga-dharma, thus establishing the true importance of the location, Siddha-Bakula.
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