"THE STORY OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF RAMTHAKUR AND OTHER TEMPLES AT BANAMALIPUR."

THE STORY OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF RAMTHAKUR AND OTHER TEMPLES AT BANAMALIPUR.

Dr. Bholanath Saha

January 8, 2026

THE STORY OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF RAMTHAKUR AND OTHER TEMPLES AT BANAMALIPUR.

GOLDEN JUBILEE CELEBRATION OF BANAMALIPUR SRI SRI RAM THAKUR SEVA MANDIR BANAMALUPUR-2026

During the last days of the life of poet Rabindranath Thakur, he told to his physician, Professor Dr. J.M. Dasgupta, "Even the ocean has a bottom; your Thakur has no bottom. You are very lucky to have found the shelter of such a guru."

We are all truly fortunate to have found the shelter of such a merciful Thakur. By the infinite grace of this Thakur, the 50th Establishment long festival anniversary of our Banamalipur Ramthakur Seva Mandir is going to be celebrated for a week from January 9, 2026. The 50th anniversary of any temple or institution is a special traditional and glorious event. It is a witness to many fond memories and heartwarming events. Throughout this long period, this temple has been carrying a continuous divine beacon of spirituality. It is our hope that this beacon will become brighter and brighter day by day with the service and longing of the devotees. Fortunately, Shrimat Kalipada Bhattacharya Mahashay, the seventh Mohanta Maharaj of Chittagong Kaivalya Dham, EMBODIMENT OF KABALYANATH will be present to personally initiate and conduct the activities of this festival and encourage and inspire everyone. In this spiritual event, devotees from all over the state, from Thakur's monasteries and temples, Ved Bani Sangha and Thakur's festival celebration organizations from various places, join in their greatness and enjoy the Mahaprasad of Thakur with unbridled joy and Harinama Sankirtan will accept.

On January 10th, at 11 am, a colorful procession will be conducted by Mohant Maharaj in white attire and northern covering, accompanied by devotees of Thakur and all the devotees of the state, with Harinam Sankirtan and Conch blowing, to circumambulate the city. On January 11th, a blood donation camp has been organized for humanitarian welfare and fruits and sweets have been distributed to patients at the local cancer hospital. On January 12th, Padma Palash Halder, famous for Zee TV, who has arrived from Kolkata, will perform devotional songs at the ashram.

The story of the establishment of the Banamalipur Sri Sri Ramthakur Seva Mandir:

In 1973, the fourth Mohant Maharaj Bhavatosh Banerjee of Kaivalya Dham organized a festival at the Durga Mandir in Agartala. During the festival, he formed a committee with devotees from all parts of the state and finally proposed the establishment of a temple of Sri Sri Ramthakur. Later, Dr. Khagendra Gupta, Amar ranjan Gupta and Dinesh Das, met the then Chief Minister, Honourable Sukhmay Sengupta, and requested him to build a temple of Ram Thakur in Banamalipur. The capable and compassionate Chief Minister, being loyal to his aunt Anjali Sengupta, a devotee of Ram Thakur formed a society in the name of Ramthakur Seva Mandir, covering two kani, three ganda in Banamalipur and registered this land for just one rupee. With the help of the committee members and other mystic devotees, a thatched house was built on this new land and a portrait of Thakur was established. A few days later, the fourth Mohant Maharaj was brought to Agartala and the temple was inaugurated and the first annual festival was celebrated on the birth anniversary of Thakur in March 1977.

Construction, inauguration and further development of the present new temple:

At the end of the first annual foundation festival, 4th Mohanta Maharaj himself laid the foundation stone of a new temple at the request of the devotees. As a result of much effort and labor, the temple was inaugurated in 1986 with a gathering festival on the auspicious occasion of Makar Sankranti. It is very significant to realize here that the inauguration of this temple was not a traditional inauguration. The fourth Mohant Maharaj was a perfect spiritual person in the form of Kaibalyanath. That night, after about twelve o'clock, Dr. Khagendranath Gupta was called privately to Maharaj's own room and said, "You are all very fortunate, Thakur himself has appeared from the screen and enjoyed the joy of the festival." In other words, unknowingly, our kind Thakur made it clear that he is always present in the holy land of this ashram. Since then, on the orders of Maharaj, the annual festival of the ashram has been celebrated on the Makar Sankranti date.

The development of the ashram did not stop with the inauguration of this pucca temple. With the unwavering efforts of the devotees of Ramthakur and the grace of the merciful Thakur,the Nata Mandir, the new Mohant Niwas, the Prasad reception room, the library, the charity medical center, the guest house, the rooms of the ashram's secretary and other offices, and the care home of Kamdhenu Gomata have been built step by step. Above all, in 2024, a new land of about one kani was purchased on adjacent north side to the present ashram. There are plans to build a home for the orphaned children and senior citizens of the society in the near future and provide them with care. A deed has been made to purchase a five-ganda share of a pond adjacent to this new land. If Thakur is gracious, the remaining share of the pond will be used to renovate this entire wetland and a plan will be taken to manage the afterlife activities of people of all communities. A variety of flower gardens, ornamental trees, and various fruit trees have been planted in the ashram for overall beautification.

Other Temples in Banamalipur area:

Banamalipur means the house or light of Lord Krishna, so with the will and blessings of Vasudeva himself, many temples of gods and goddesses have been built in this area since the reign of that king. Currently, about 16 temples have been built in Banamalipur and the palace compound. It would not be a wrong concept to call the area A HOLY LAND OF THE CITY. The purpose of establishing any temple is to serve God collectively, to practice and worship. To purify one's body and mind with spiritual consciousness, finally to awaken the Kundalini power and to unite the soul with the Supreme Soul. Therefore, the saints of India have encouraged and inspired them to establish their places of worship in different areas of the world.

1) Jagannath Jiu Temple:

The kings of Tripura were devotees of Lord Vishnu and Krishna. Jagannath is a special form of Vishnu and Krishna. Maharaja Radhakishor Manikya built this octagonal temple in 1906. In 1976, Sri Chaitanya Gaudiya Math legally took over the responsibility of this temple at the invitation of the Tripura government. Since then, the temple has been beautified and improved. Many new pucca houses, guest houses, medical centers and flower gardens have been built.

2) Narsimha Devta Temple or Narsimha Akhara:

Maharaj Radhakishor Manikya Bahadur established this temple on about 7-8 gandas of land north of the old motor stand. Here, along with the idol of Narsimha Dev, the idol of Shri Ram Janaki Devi is installed. The specialty of the temple is that apart from worship, many renowned reciters of the city recite religious discourses here in the evenings and nights.

3) Sri Sri Durgabari:

Located on the southern bank of the Krishna Sagar Dighi in the Raj Chattar, this temple was probably built by Maharaja Birendra Kishore Manikya around 1913-14. At present, every year, Sri Basanti Durgadevi and Sri Sri Shardiya Durga are worshipped in a grand ceremony.

4) Sri Sri Lakshmi Narayan Bari Temple:

Maharaja Birendra Kishore Manikya built this temple on the southern bank of Radha Sagar Dighi in 1915. He dedicated it to Radha Vrindavan Chandra.

5) Pagla Devta or Liningthou Pakhangba Temple:

The second queen of Maharaja Radhakishore was the princess of Manipur named Ratnamanchuri. This queen established this temple, rich in many memories and spiritual anecdotes, in 1916, east of the old motor stand, south of the Assam-Agartala road. It is a very sacred place of worship for the Manipuri community of the state.

6) Uma-Maheshwar Temple:

The last Maharaja of Tripura, Bir Bikram Manikya Bahadur, established this temple in 1937 on the eastern side of the "Radha-Sagar" pond in the royal palace.

AFTER THE ROYAL PERIOD IN BARNAMALIPUR, FIRST SRI SRI RAMTHAKUR SEVA MANDIR WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1977 ON NINE OTHER TEMPLES ESTABLISHED AS FOLLOWS:-

1) Anandamayi Maa Temple: An unique saint in the Indian spiritual world, Maa Anandamayi established her own temple in March 1978. She inaugurated this temple by installing a beautiful Saraswati idol along with the Shivlinga-Gauripeeth, Parvati and Ganesh idols that he brought with her. Through the efforts of Maharaja Kirit Bikram and the then Honourable Chief Minister of the state, Sukhmoy Sengupta Mahashay, the Uma Maheshwar Temple and all the adjacent land were donated in the name of Anandamayi Maa.

2) Mahavir Religious Trust's Jain Temple:

Hiralal Jain, a veteran businessman from Agartala, acquired 5 gandas of land from the royal family and established the Tirthankar Mahavir Jain Temple in 1980 for the nearly five hundred Jain community in the state.

3) Sri Sri Mahanam Angan:

Out of the 11 spiritual greats of Bengal and India who won the crown of victory by explaining Hinduism at the Chicago World's Religions Conference, Dr. Mahanambarata Brahmachari was the ninth to be awarded that rare honour in 1933. On September 14, 1982, he laid the foundation stone of this temple. On December 25, 1983, Mahanambarata Brahmachari himself installed the idol and started worship. On September 14, 2020, the present temple was newly build up and inaugurated on On September 14, 2020.The temple situated at Mahanambrata Brahmachari lane of Banamalipur.

4) ISKCON or International Society for Krishna Consciousness Temple:

The main temple of ISKCON is located in Mayapur, Navadwip,West Bengal and its founder is Srila Abhaycharanarvinda Bhakti Vedanta Swami Prabhupada. He was the last of the eleven great men of Bengal who attended the Chicago World's Religions Conference and attracted and enlightened people around the world with Hinduism. With a Shaved-head, non-vegetarian, wearing a rosary, he made the whole world love with the mantra "Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare". The famous Kamaljit Singh Mahasaya, who established the Radha Govinda temple in his own house in the Banamalipur Math Chaumuhani area, donated the land to ISKCON in 1984. Bhakti Charan Damodar Swami took charge of this temple on behalf of ISKCON and started ISKCON's activities. In 2015, the new temple was established.

5) Ajachak Ashram or Swami Swaroopananda's Devalaya:

Swami Swaroopananda's next chief, Sangeetha Devi, purchased about 10 gandas of land from Royal teacher Anukul Mukherjee Mahashay,located on Laxminarayan Bari road,on January17th, 1994 to establish the Ashram. A few days later, the head of this organization, Dadamani Tapan Brahmachari Mahashay, established the idol of "Om-Kar"ওঁ, the greatest symbol of Hindu religion and culture. In this Ashram daily worship, kirton and meditation were performed with the philosophy of Swami Swaroopananda Mahashay.

6) Baba Loknath Temple:

On the day of the Paduka Utsav of Trikaldarshi Baba Loknath, on 12th Falgun 1401 or 25th February 1995, Makhan Damchowdhury, a resident of Town Pratapgarh, purchased about 6 gandas of land from Royal Teacher Anukul Mukherjee and started the establishment of the worship of Loknath Baba. After about 7 years, with the help of Shyam pal, Narayan Chandra Kar and many other devotees, the present glorious temple was built .Prasad is regularly distributed among the poor people in this temple in the morning and evening.

7) Shri Krishna Temple:

On 21st January 2005, the officials of Tripura Yadav Sabha established this temple by purchasing about 10 gandas of land from retired judge of the state Barin Bhattacharya Mahashay, son of Janesh Chandra Bhattacharya Mahashay, the caretaker of Maharani Prabhavati Devi.The present beautiful temple was inaugurated in 2016. Naam Kirtan and Bhagavat are recited in the temple every evening.

8) Prajapita Brahmakumari Ishwariya University Sadhana Kendra:

The head office of this organization is located in Mount Abu, Rajasthan, India. This service center was started in Madhyabanamalipur in 2000 under the leadership of B.K. Kavita Behenji for the ideology of Raj Yoga education. Devotees worshiped God here every morning and evening through Raj Yoga.

9) Guru Ravi Shankarji Bhakti Vikas Kendra:

The family members of renowned Royal physician Dr. Nirmal Devchowdhury donated about 6 gandas of land on Banamalipur Thana Road to Guruji in 2003, camp at Bangalore. Since 2009, Kumari Sabari Chowdhury, the state's first Art of Living teacher, started training on Art of Living among the devotees of Tripura. On February 12, 1910, Ravi Shankarji himself laid the foundation stone of a new temple on this land.

SOME FAMOUS PEOPLE OF INDIA IN THE PRESENCE OF SRI SRI RAMTHAKUR

1. Bharat Ratna Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy:

One of the most trusted people of Dr. Roy, was his personal private secretary Sadananda Chakraborty-M.A, A devotee of SRI SRI RAMTHAKUR. Many times, while having a private spiritual discussion with him at night while enjoying his favourite sweet ‘Amitty, he told him, "Look, I also have a Guru. But don't ask me his name, I won't tell you." But while narrating the Guru's words and visions, he explained in various ways that Sri Sri Ram Thakur himself was his Guru.

2) Padma Bhushan Kazi Nazrul Islam and National Poet of Bangladesh:

A few days before Kazi Nazrul became speechless, around 1914, he went to visit Ram Thakur at the house of Kunjalal Majumdar, a devotee of Ram Thakur, in Earls Street, Kolkata. He folded his hands and looked at Thakur with a pitiful gaze. After a long time, Thakur looked at his face full of pitiful gaze and said, "Not in this life, but in the next birth." Saying this, Thakur fell silent.

The rebel poet bowed down to Thakur, bent his knees, and immediately composed a song of his own and began to sing it. The language and melody of the song were so heartbreaking that tears began to flow from the eyes of everyone present. And it was seen that the rebel poet's two eyes were shedding tears while singing the song. On the other hand, Sri Sri Thakur was in a still state as if absorbed in meditation.

2. Padmashri Mahamohapadhyay Gopinath Kaviraj:

Revered Gopinath Babu used to visit Thakur during his stay in Varanasi for about 16-17 years. In his book "Sadhu Darshan O Satprasanga" he writes that Rama Thakur was a great man of great wisdom, an incarnation of humility, endowed with miraculous powers. The profound knowledge that came out of his mouth was incomparable.

3. Poet Naveen Chandra Sen:

The respected poet has written about Thakur in the fourth volume of his book 'Amar Jiban', I had great respect for him, husband and wife were all fascinated and listened to his strange explanations, needless to say, he was not the explanation of a professional Hindu preacher. He was an incarnation of humility, endowed with miraculous powers, a great man of great knowledge.

4. Writer Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay:

When Ram Thakur came to the house of Dr. J. M. Dasgupta Mahashay in Kolkata, Sarat Chandra Mahashay would sometimes see Thakur. He told Dr. Dasgupta, "Whenever I stay with him, I feel like I have found everything, I am living in the country. When I go away, I lose that tune, I cannot find that lost tune again." Sarat Chandra was a little stunned and then said, "That is why I want to see him again and again."

Jai Ram - Jai Govinda

“A humble tribute and remembrance to all the respected Gurubhai, whose dedicated efforts and hard work led to the establishment of our current Banamalipur Ramthakur Seva Mandir.”