History of BengalThe history of Bengal is intertwined with the history of the broader Indian subcontinent and the surrounding regions of South Asia and Southeast Asia. It includes modern-day Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam's Karimganj district, located in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent, at the apex of the Bay of Bengal and dominated by the fertile Ganges delta. The region was known to the ancient Greeks and Romans as Gangaridai, a powerful kingdom whose war elephant forces led the withdrawal of Alexander the Great from India.
ShantipurSantipur is a city and a municipality in the Ranaghat subdivision of Nadia district in the Indian state of West Bengal. The fort area of this city, also known as Daak-Garh (calling or gathering room) is thought to have been built by Raja Krishnachandra of Nadia. Santipur is located at . It has an average elevation of 15 metres (49 feet). Santipur is famous for handloom sarees from ancient times. After the partition of India, many weavers came from Dhaka of Bangladesh and started to reside here in Phulia region, which is a Panchayat area of Santipur.
VaishnavismVaishnavism (Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the sole supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, i.e. Mahavishnu. Its followers are called Vaishnavites or Vaishnavas (), and it includes sub-sects like Krishnaism and Ramaism, which consider Krishna and Rama as the supreme beings respectively. According to a 2010 estimate by Johnson and Grim, Vaishnavism is the largest Hindu sect, constituting about 641 million or 67.
MayapurMayapur () is a neighbourhood of Bamanpukur, in the Nabadwip CD block in the Krishnanagar Sadar subdivision of the Nadia district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is situated adjacent to Nabadwip, at the confluence of two rivers, where the waters of the Jalangi River mix with the Bhagirathi, a tributary of the Ganges. It is located about 130 km north of Kolkata. Along with Nabadwip, it is considered a spiritual place by the adherents of Gaudiya Vaishnavism.
Hooghly RiverThe Hooghly River (Anglicized alternatively spelt as Hoogli or Hugli) or popularly called Ganga or Kati-Ganga in the Puranas, is a river that rises close to Giria, which lies north of Baharampur and Palashi in Murshidabad. It is the western distributary of the Ganges. The main course of the Ganges then flows into Bangladesh as the Padma. A man-made canal, built in the 1960s and early-1970s at Farakka connects the Ganges, flowing through Malda, to the Bhagirathi to bring the abundant waters of the Himalayan river to the comparatively narrow river that rises in eastern West Bengal.
Malda districtMalda district, also spelt Maldah or Maldaha (malda, maldɔɦ, often maldɔɦo), is a district in West Bengal, India. It lies 347 km (215 miles) north of Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal. Mango, jute and silk are the most notable products of this district. The special variety of mango, Fazli, produced in this region is popularly known by the name of the district and is exported across the world and is internationally acclaimed.
International Society for Krishna ConsciousnessThe International Society for Krishna Consciousness or ISKCON, known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement or Hare Krishnas, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava Hindu religious organization. ISKCON was founded in 1966 in New York City by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Its core beliefs are based on Hindu scriptures, particularly the Bhagavad Gita and the Bhagavata Purana. ISKCON is "the largest and, arguably, most important branch" of Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, which has had adherents in India since the early 16th century and American and European devotees since the early 1900s.
Gaudiya VaishnavismGaudiya Vaishnavism (), also known as Chaitanya Vaishnavism, is a Vaishnava Hindu religious movement inspired by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534) in India. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gaura or Gauḍa region of Bengal (present-day Malda district of West Bengal and Rajshahi district of Bangladesh), with Vaishnavism meaning "the worship of Vishnu". Specifically, it is part of Krishnaism—Krishna-centric Vaishnavite traditions.
