Ekachakra
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Ekachakra একচক্র |
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| village | |
Ekachakra dharm, the location where the Pandavas are said to have stayed.
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 Ekachakra
 Ekachakra
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| Coordinates: 24°03′41″N 87°50′52″E / 24.061434°N 87.847789°ECoordinates: 24°03′41″N 87°50′52″E / 24.061434°N 87.847789°E | |
| Country |
 India
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| State | West Bengal |
| District | Birbhum |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Bengali, English |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Website | birbhum |
Ekachakra is a small village, located 20 km away from the town of Rampurhat in the Birbhum District of West Bengal. Within Hindu tradition, the five Pandavas from the epic, Mahabharata are described as staying in Ekachakra during their years in exile. It is also famous as the birthplace of Nityananda Rama (b 1474 CE), a principal religious figure in the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition.
The village extends north and south for an area of about eight miles. Other villages, namely Viracandra-pura and Virabhadra-pura, are situated within the area of the village of Ekacakra. In honor of Virachandra Goswami (the son of Nityananda), these places are renowned as Viracandra-pura and Virabhadra-pura.
The origin of the name Ekachakra is associated with the legend of the Pandavas. In the battle of Kurukshetra when Krishna broke his vow of not taking any sides in the war to save his devotee Arjuna, he has rushed with a wheel to hit Bhishmadeva who had been fighting with Arjuna. When Bhishmadeva satisfied him with many beautiful prayers, Krishna lost his anger and tossed aside the wheel. The wheel fell on this tract of land and therefore got the name Ekachakra. Eka means one, and chakra means wheel.
In the Mahabharata, it is also believed to be the place where Demon Bakasura lived who was later slain by Bhima. However, there are several places all over India which contest as ancient Ekachakra.
This is said to be the actual birthplace of Nityananda. In the Janmasthan Mandir there is a deity of Nitai (Nityananda) worshipped by a local brahmin family. Hadai Pandita Bhavan is the site of the original house of Nityananda’s father. The small white temple next to Nitai Kund marks the exact spot where Nityananda was born. There are two banyan trees by this temple that are said to have existed since the time of Nityananda.
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Wikipedia