Ben: নবদ্বীপ nabadvīpa
‘New Island’ [Navadwip, Nadia, Nudiya] City/District, West Bengal.
From Ben/Hin: naba, ‘new’; and dbīpa/dvipa, ‘island’
Nababadwip was formed by deposits left by the Hooghly (a distributary of the Ganges) creating a ‘new island’ as it swept from the Himalayas south into the Ganges Delta.
Chaitanya, the 16thC Vaishnavite saint (devotee of Lord Vishnu) was born here in neighbouring Mayapur.
There are a number of important Vaishnavite temples located here including the Sri Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir, HQ of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness). This temple has been built at a cost of $100m and it combines Indian and western architectural themes. When it is opened it will be the largest religious monument in the world.
Nabsdvip became an important centre for learning, philosophy and pilgrimage, and has sometimes been called the ‘Oxford of East’ or the ‘Oxford of Bengal’.
Nadia District takes its name not from Krishnanagar, the District HQ, but from Nadia or Nabadwip.
For related place names see Indian Place names and West Bengal place names.
Sri Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir Sandip Paul