Jagannath Misra and his Family
Sri Jagannath Misra was born in ‘Dhaka Dakshin’, a small village situated in the northern Bangladesh district of Sylhet. His grandfather Sri Madhu Misra had four sons – Upendra, Kirtida,Rangada and Kirtivasa. Sri Jagannath Misra was the fifth son of Upendra Misra and Kalavati devi. Sri Upendra and Kalavati devi had six other sons – Kamsari, Paramananda, Padmanabha, Sarveshvara, Janardana and Trailokyanath. According to Gaura Gannodesha Dipika, Sri Upendra Misra was the incarnation of Parjanya, Krishna’s grandfather, while Sri Jagannath Misra was the combined incarnation of Nanda Maharaj, Vasudeva (the king of yadus) ,Dasaratha, and Kasyapa muni. After spending his childhood in Sylhet, Jagannath Misra moved to Navadvipa to gain higher education under the tutelage of Nilambara Chakravarty, a renowned scholar of the day (refer – ‘Sri Nilambar Chakravarti’s residence ,Belpukur,Navadvipa (Simantadvipa)’). He subsequently settled in Navadvipa after marrying Nilambara Chakravarty’s daughter, Saci devi. Gaura Gannodesha Dipika states that Saci devi ,Jagannath Misra’s wife, was the combined incarnation of the potencies of Devaki, Yashoda, Aditi and Kaushalya.Jagannath Misra and Saci mata, were the supremely fortunate parents of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the deliverer of the three worlds. Sri Chaitanya deva appeared from the womb of mother Saci, on the full moon night of Phalguna (Feb-March) in the year 1486 AD (refer – ‘YogPeeth, Mayapur, Navadvipa – The birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’). The identity of Lord Chaitanya as the Supreme Personality of Godhead has been confirmed in several Vedic scriptures like Srimad Bhagavatam,Mahabharata, Garuda Purana,Nrsimha Purana, Padma purana,Bhavishya Purana, Narada Purana etc. We are quoting just two of such references below, for the pleasure of the devotees.
aham purno bhavisyami yuga sandhyau visesatah
mayapure navadvipe bhavisyami saci sutah
(Garuda Purana)
Translation – In the future, in first part of Kali yuga, I shall appear in my complete spiritual form at Mayapura, Navadvipa and become the son of Saci.
The mission of Lord Chaitanya, along with a description of His golden complexion and how He descends along with His confidential associates in this age of Kali ,to inaugurate the Sankirtana Yajna is revealed in Srimad Bhagavatam (Bhagavata purana) –
Krishna varnam tvishakrishnam sangopangastra-parsadam
yajnaih sankirtana prayair yajanti hi sumedhasah
(Srimad Bhagavatam 11.5.32)
Dhaka Dakshin (Sylhet) – the ancestral property of Jagannath Misra :
A few days after their marriage, Sri Jagannath Misra shifted to Sylhet, along with his wife, to serve his parents. During one of these days, Srimati Shobha devi, Jagannath Misra’s mother, saw a dream in which she envisioned how Vrajendranandana Sri Krishna would advent as her grandson Nimai. But she also received an instruction in her dream that broke her heart. It was instructed that Srimati Saci devi and Jagannath Misra have to be immediately sent back to Navadvipa where Lord Chaitanya would subsequently manifest His appearance pastimes. The dream left Shobha devi thrilled and heartbroken at the same time. She was ecstatic to learn that the Supreme Lord Himself would take birth in her lineage. But she was morose at the same time anticipating her imminent separation from her son and daughter-in-law.
Before sending them back to Navadvipa, a grief-stricken Shobha devi made Saci Mata promise that she must ensure that Shobha devi receives the darsana of her grandson in the future. Later after accepting His sannyasa initiation (refer- ‘Sri Gauranga Bari (katwa) – Where Mahaprabhu accepted Sannyasa’) ,Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu visited Dhaka Dakshin where He met with an emotional Shobha devi. The enchanting beauty of Lord Gauranga mesmerized His fortunate grandmother who very-well knew of His identity. Soon Lord Gauranga manifested Himself as tribhanga Murari (Sri Krishna playing upon His flute) witnessing which Shobha devi’s heart was filled with waves of divine ecstasy.
The ancestral property of Jagannath Misra lies in ruins today. When we, the team from ‘The Gaudiya Treasures of Bengal’ visited the site, we observed that this ancient Gaudiya Vaishnava dham was overgrown with jungle. Yet the age-old stairways, archaic building structures, the remains of the inner courtyard, can clearly be made out even to this day. This place is exceedingly dear to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and He bestows His causeless mercy upon those who meditate upon this exalted dham. It is said that the southern entrance to the abode of Yamaraja closes for one who visits this place even once. Hence this place has come to be known as Dhaka Dakshin (Dhaka – covered ; Dakshin – south).
We worship the lotus feet of our spiritual master ,whose causeless mercy has empowered us ineligible fools ,to gain entrance and take up service in this transcendental abode of Sylhet. We seek shelter of this holy land, and pray that its glories remain forever imprinted in our hearts. ‘The Gaudiya Treasures of Bengal’ offers millions of obeisances and humbly prays to Sri Jagannath Misra, Srimati saci devi and Srimati Shobha devi that we advance in our Krishna consciousness, develop attachment unto the lotus feet of Lord Gauranga and are able to serve Sri Guru & Vaishnavas, by our honest and sincere efforts. We seek their blessings and compassion , in successfully rendering this humble service of reciting the pastimes and revealing the pastime places of the Supreme Lord and His beloved associates.We shall consider ourselves greatly fortunate and our existence meaningful if Lord Gaurahari and our dear spiritual master are kindly pleased with our endeavours.
What to see:
- The age-old stairways, archaic building structures, the remains of the inner courtyard, is visible to this day. One can take the stairs to obtain darsana of the inner sanctum of this ancient house.
- The deity of Lord Gauranga that were once installed in this sacred dham, has been subsequently shifted to Srikona, in Assam.
- A beautiful temple has now been constructed adjacent to this exalted ancient site at Dhaka Dakshin, where deities of Lord Gauranga, Lord Krishna, Jagannath Misra ,Saci devi , Upendra Misra and Shobha devi are worshipped with all due diligence.
How to Reach :
Dhaka Dakshin is hardly a 1.5 hour ride from the Sylhet International Airport. The ancient property of Jagannath Misra is today renowned as ‘Mahaprabhu-r Bari’ (‘Bari’ translates to house in bengali).Dhaka Dakshin is currently under the jurisdiction of Golapganj police station and is hardly a five minutes walk from the ‘Dhaka Dakshin’ bus stand.
Accommodation – One can choose to stay in any of the prominent hotels of Sylhet city like ‘Farmis Garden’, ‘Hotel Noorjahan Grand’, etc. There is also an Iskcon center nearby where one can opt to stay or have his meals.
Nearest major airport – Osmani International Airport, Sylhet, Bangladesh
Nearest major Railway station – Sylhet
(Please note that we neither necessarily recommend these hotels/accommodation centers mentioned above nor do we guarantee that they will provide the required facilities/services to the visiting pilgrims. We are not in any way related to the governance of these hotels/accommodation centers. The visiting pilgrim is advised to choose an accommodation as per his own discretion)
