Mukundapur Shiva Temple :
It is situated to the south-west of Sri Ramakrishna’s Birth Place. On being directed by Gopeswar Shiva, Gadadhar’s mother went to this temple and lay there without food and drink, praying for the recovery of Gadadhar from his supposed madness. She, however, felt comforted when she heard a divine voice saying “don’t be afraid, your son is not mad; he has become like this because of divine intoxication”. It is said that from that time onwards many people have got their prayers fulfilled by practicing such penances before the deity.
Anur Vishalakshmi Temple :
The village called Anur is situated about 3 km away to the north of Kamarpukur. Goddess Visalaakshi of Anur is a very popular deity. One day a few ladies of Kamarpukur and its neighbourhood were going in a group to offer worship to Visalaakshi when the eight-year old Gadadhar also accompanied them. He recited from memory beautiful verses and sang songs about the deities, while walking with them. But while singing the glory of Visalaakshi, his body became stiff. Tears flowed down his cheeks and his voice also choked. The ladies felt extremely anxious. Prasanna, the devoted daughter of Dharmadas Laha, was also present in the party. All on a sudden it occurred to her mind that it might be due to the mystic influence of the Goddess on the simple child who had great faith in her. When she spoke it out, all others believed it. They prayed to the Goddess repeatedly saying, “Oh Mother Visalaakshi be pleased; save us Mother; please look upon us with compassion.’’ Wonder of wonders! Immediately the face of Gadadhar brightened up with a sweet smile and gradually consciousness came back. The ladies felt relieved and with their hearts overflowing with devotion, they went to the temple, offered their worship duly and returned home.
Deregram Ramakrishna Mandir :
Deregram is at a distance of about two miles to the west of Kamarpukur. Sri Khudiram Chattopadhyay, father of Bhgawan Sri Sri Ramakrishnadev lived there and he had almost 150 bighas of agricultural lands. But due to his honesty, he was become bankrupt and deported from deregram by the landlord.
Now the ancestral cottage of Sri Khudiram Chattopadhyay has been preserved and renovated by a comittee. A temple has also been built up in memory of Sri Sri Ramakrishnadev and inagurated by Revered Sreemat Swami Gahananandaji Maharaj. This temple is known as 'Deregram Ramakrishna Mandir'.
Jayrambati (Mayer Bari)
Jayrambati lies at a distance of three miles to west of Kamarpukur. It is the sacred birthplace of Sri Sri Maa Sarada Devi and the field of the various activities of his childhood.
This beautiful temple has been built exactly on the spot where the Holy Mother was born and it was here that her father Ramchandra Mukhopadhyay had his original dwelling-house. The Holy Mother's marriage also took place in this very house and her parents lived there till she reached the ninth year of her age.
Puratan-Bari (Old House) of Holy Mother :
Nutan-Bari (New House) of Holy Mother :
With the increase in the number of devotees, various kinds of difficulties cropped up regarding accommodation in the original house. That was why Swami Saradananda bought a piece of land on the western side of the tank called 'Punya Pukur', and got a separate house build thereon for Holy Mother in 1915-16. This dwelling-place is called at present 'Mother's New House'(Nutan Bari).
Sundar Narayan Dharma-Thakur, who is the ancestral Deity of Ramchandra Mukhopadhyay, enshrined in a small mud- walled thatched house consisting of two rooms.
Punya Pukur :
This tank lies on the eastern side of the Holy Mother's New House and in front of the temple. It is called Punya Pukur (the Holy Tank) because of its constant use by the Holy Mother.
The Temple of Singhabahini :
The Goddess Singhabahini is represented in the form of a metallic pitcher. The Holy Mother said that, once while she was lying before the temple under a vow of fasting to get her blessings for the cure of an acute disease from which she had been suffering for a long time, the Goddess Singhabahini appeared before her and her mother Shyamasundari in the guise of a blacksmith girl of about eleven or twelve years of age and suggested remedial medicines to them, which cured her completely. The Holy Mother after her recovery preserved some quantity of earth of this sacred place in a small casket, partook of it everyday and also gave it to Radhu (Radharani), one of her nieces. After the discovery of the curative power of this earth, persons from distant places began to swarm into this place to collect this holy earth with great devotion for the various kinds of maladies, and also as an effective medicine for snake-bite. That was why this Goddess attained to wide celebrity and great popularity among all classes of people.
Amodar Ghat (Bathing-Ghat of Holy Mother) :
Amodar Ghat (Bathing-Ghat of Holy Mother) :
The Rivulet Amodar, which was regarded by the Holy Mother as the Ganga, has formed on the northern out-skirt of the village a sort of a triangular-shaped peninsula which looks exactly like the back of a tortoise. Being dotted with marks of cremation, it presents a picturesque sight that excites a spirit of renunciation by reminding people of the transitoriness of the world. The course of the Amodar is towards the north at this particular place. Swami Saradananda used to meditate daily under the shade of the Amlak (myrobalan) tree that stood in the middle of this small peninsula during his stay at Joyrambati. Yogin-Ma, Golap-Ma and others, after their bath in this sacred river spent much of their time in meditation and in reading of the Gita, Chandi etc. Subsequently, a brick-built bathing-ghat was constructed on the spot where the Holy Mother used to take bath.
Mayer Dighi (Ghat) :
Yatra Siddhi Roy :
Holy Mother, Sri Sarada Devi used to start Her Journey with doing pranam to village Deity, Yatra Siddhi Roy from Joyrambati to distance places.
Holy Mother, Sri Sarada Devi used to start Her Journey with doing pranam to village Deity, Yatra Siddhi Roy from Joyrambati to distance places.
The Site of Bhanu-Pishi's House :
Barujjey-Pukur (Tal-Pukur) :
This tank is also called 'Tal-Pukur' as it is surrounded on all sides by a row of Palmyra trees. It lies on the south eastern corner of the village. This tank is a ten-minute walk from Mother's House in the southern part of the village. The Holy Mother used to take her bath daily in this deep tank and also used its water for drinking and cooking purpose.
Ramakrishna Yogashrama, Koalpara
Koalpara is one of the places which, like Kamarpukur, Joyrambati and other nearby villages, is intimately connected with sacred memories of the Holy Mother. It is about a distance of seven miles to the north-east of Kamarpukur. She used to take rest in this village on her way to Calcutta via Bishnupur. She called it her parlour and resided several times in this village. An Ashrama (monastery) was started here in the year 1909 and the Holy Mother installed the portraits of Sri Ramakrishna and herself in the Ashrama-shrine and daily worship is since being carried on here. Besides, the Holy Mother lived occasionally in the 'Jagadamba-Ashrama' which belonged to a devotee. It stands very close to the Koalpara-Ashrama at the end of this village.
Apart from observance of daily worship and other festivals Ramakrishna Yogashrama, Kolapara runs a Charitable Homoeopathic Dispensary. It has extended its service in various areas like providing books for poor students, Educational help, Medical help, Umbrellas to poor students, Bicycles to poor students, Tube wells for safe drinking water, Blankets for poor villagers etc.
Sihar
This village is about six miles to the north-west of Kamarpukur. Hridayram Mukhopadhyay, a nephew of Sri Ramakrishna, was born in this village, Sri Ramakrishna used to go there very often to see his nephew. Hriday once earnestly requested Sri Ramakrishna to be present in his house during the worship of the Goddess Durga. Though he was not able to be physically present there for some unavoidable reasons, he fulfilled the desire of Hriday by appearing daily there during the worship in his subtle body, and Hriday was mightily glad to see the Master every day during the evening worship and Sandhi-puja. Now-a-days only the remnants of this place of worship (Chandimandap) exist.
Once when Shyamasundari Devi was living with her father in the northern part of Shihar, she had occasion to sit in the dark beside a potter's oven under a bel (Bilva) tree. There suddenly issued a jingling sound from the direction of the oven, and a beautiful little girl dressed in a red cloth, came down from the tree. She laid her soft hands round Shyamasundari's neck from behind and said, 'Mother, I have come to your house', whereupon she fell unconscious. Her relatives came searching for her and carried her home. On regaining consciousness she felt as though the little girl had entered her womb.
Once when Shyamasundari Devi was living with her father in the northern part of Shihar, she had occasion to sit in the dark beside a potter's oven under a bel (Bilva) tree. There suddenly issued a jingling sound from the direction of the oven, and a beautiful little girl dressed in a red cloth, came down from the tree. She laid her soft hands round Shyamasundari's neck from behind and said, 'Mother, I have come to your house', whereupon she fell unconscious. Her relatives came searching for her and carried her home. On regaining consciousness she felt as though the little girl had entered her womb.
