Aatpur – Where Swami Vivekananda Accepted Sanyas

Discover heritage destinations of Bengal with our travel expert Reetwika Banerjee.

Aatpur is a small village in Hooghly district of Bengal, closely associated with the two most significant direct disciples of Sri Sri Ramkrishna Paramhangsa Deb. It houses the sacred fireplace where Swami Vivekananda had taken his oath of sanyas (monkhood), and it is the birthplace of Swami Premananda.

Footwalks at Aatpur Village

Baburam Ghosh (earlier name of Swami Premananda) had a younger sister staying at their ancestral house in Aatpur. In 1882, she got married to a Calcutta based aristocrat named Balaram Bose, who was a close touch of Ramkrishna Deb. It was an accidental meeting where Baburam was introduced to Thakur during his visit to sister’s house. Over the years, Baburam was so impressed by Thakur’s philosophy of life that he eventually decided to take monastic vows.

Same year, Narendranath Datta (alias Swami Vivekananda) also happened to meet Ramkrishna Deb on a different occasion. He was a B.A. student at Calcutta University then. During one of the lectures on literature, William Hastie advised his students to visit Ramkrishna Deb once to understand the real meaning of ‘trance’. It was then Naren got to know about Thakur and went on to meet him at Dakshineshwar. Ever since he met Thakur, Naren got influenced by Ramkrishna Deb’s vision. Though initially he argued a lot but slowly developed strong spiritual inspiration after his father’s death in 1884.

In the meantime, Baburam and Naren became friends and started seeing each other at Dakshineshwar. Then the ominous day arrived. 16th of August 1886 – Ramkrishna Deb rested his mortal body at Cossipore residence, departing the world forever. Eight of his direct disciples including Baburam and Naren were literally orphaned at Thakur’s demise.

Way to Baburam's house at Aatpur

Finally on 24th December, 1886 all of them decided to take sanyas. But the young men did not find a suitable place to take the holy bath in Calcutta. So, they decided to travel to Baburam’s ancestral house at Aatpur.

Holy pond where Swami Vivekananda had taken his last bath before accepting sanyas

There was an ancient pond and a Radha Gobinda Jiu temple, held sacred by the villagers; where all of them bathed the final time before denouncing luxury to the holy fire.

Dhuni Mandap

At the adjoining Dhuni Mandap atchala (a Hindu prayer room with eight pillars) the Hom Yajna was organized by a devoted Brahmin of Aatpur. After rigorous prayers, eight holy souls emerged including Swami Vivekananda and Swami Premananda amongst others.

Adjoining atchala

It was scorching summer when we travelled. Having reached there at noontime, we were totally exhausted. The cool shade of a 600 year old Bakul tree of Mitra Bati soothed our weariness. We parked our car on a green ground and tripped around on foot.

Rest under 600 year old Bakul tree of Mitra Bati

Parked our car on this green splash of land

A prominent gateway invited us to a golden past. The Radha Gobinda Jiu temple still stands strong. As per a popular folklore, huge wealth is hidden inside an underground basement of the temple. ‘Jaker Dhon’ as they typically say. No one is allowed to enter the dark chamber without permission of the presiding trust. If anyone ever trespasses, there is a bronze bell that hangs from the top of the temple starts ringing, raising burglar alarm.

No idea if that’s true, but we did see a bell tucked at the tip of temple mount.

Radha Gobinda Jiu temple of Mitra Bati

Beside was a Rash Mancha where in olden days, Holi was played with great pomp and show. From the present conditions, it did not seem much in use though.

Rash Mancha of Mitra Bati

The ruins of Mitra Bati did bring tears to my eyes. Nevertheless, the exquisite terracotta artworks on the temple pillars makes it a must visit even today.

Ruins of Mitra Bati

Spotting of lesser whistling ducks added some charm to our trip but I was saddened to find such a historic pond being overgrown with water hyacinths. No maintenance, no demarcation, nothing!

A few steps ahead, we visited the Ramkrishna-Swami Premananda Math. Being at odd hours, it was closed for public during our visit.

Heading to Ramkrishna-Swami Premananda Math

How to Reach:

It’s about a two-hour drive from Kolkata to Aatpur village (60 kilometres approx.) along the Ahalya Bai Holkar Road. Road conditions were really bad till Seakhala. The last stretch of 10 kilometers was little better.

Where to Stay:

There is no Govt. tourist lodge in Aatpur. One can find budget stays at Tarakeshwar (around 25 kilometers away) or put up at Ramkrishna-Premananda Ashram of Aatpur against pre-booking from Belur Math. However, it is best suitable for a day trip from Kolkata.

What to See Around:

Rajbol Haat handloom workshops, Tarakeshwar temple

Best Time of Visit:

It can be visited round the year, however summers to be avoided. Just 8 kilometers from Aatpur is a small village named Somnagar. During Diwali you can also visit Bandyopadhyay Bati’s 600 years old, the most ancient domestic Kali Puja of Bengal. On the Puja days, their doors are open for all visitors.