A Building of unparalleled heritage in Chandannagar completes 200 years of its Existence


The Prabartak Sangha in Boraichanditala, Chandannagar, Hooghly, a Hindu religious institution known for its social work, founded by Sri Motilal Roy (Born: 5th January 1883; Died: 10th April, 1959),  an eminent freedom fighter and social reformer in 1920. Sri Motilal Roy was greatly influenced by the spiritual path of Sri Aurobindo Ghosh, the famous Indian philosopher, yogi, guru, poet and nationalist. This philanthropic organisation was initiated with the aim of nation building which it sought to achieve through the social and economic upliftment of the masses.  This organisation played a nationalistic role in British India through its social reforms. The Prabartak Sangha ventured into business, ran educational institutions and established cultural centres to spread the message of its founder.

As the town of Chandannagar on the banks of the Hooghly River was under French governance at that time, the Prabartak Sangha acted as a popular shelter for freedom fighters who dedicated their life for the Independence of India from the hands of the British with active support of Sri Motilal Roy. Many eminent freedom fighters and dignitaries like Charu Chandra Roy, Srish Chandra Ghosh, Rashbehari Basu, Aurobindo Ghosh, Mahatma Gandhi, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Shyamaprasad Mukhopadhyay, Kaji Najrul Islam and others visited this place. An annual Fair adjacent to the premises of the Yoga & Brahma Vidya Mandir of Prabartak Sangha in Goswami Ghat Chandannagar during Akshaya Tritiya was organised every year and Gurudev Rabindra Nath Tagore visited the place in the year 1927 accepting the invitation of its founder. Sri Motilal Roy primarily participated in the fight for Indian Independence with his involvement in the Partition of Bengal Movement (Bango Bhango Andolon) in 1905. He was also involved in transporting arms to jailed freedom fighter Sri Kanailal Dutta for carrying out their fight for Independence. His Guru, Sri Aurbindo Ghosh, stayed here in Chandannagar for forty two days in confinement before proceeding to Pondicherry by boat sailing through the river Hooghly that flowed beside the town.

This temple was built 200 years ago much earlier than the Dakshineswar Temple and was completed in the year 1819 by a lady Srimati Gourmoni Devi, after the death of her husband Biswanath Sarkar who happened to be the descendant of Debi Charan Sarkar. Surrounding this temple, two other Pancharatna style temples along with ten Shiva temples were also built however six of such temples have been completely destroyed by now and cease to exist. Located right next to a cremation ground of the Hindus on the banks of  the Ganga, an idol of Goddess Kali was placed and worshipped in this temple, however instances of theft of jewellery of the Goddess and subsequent physical damage led to stoppage of its daily worship and it was later immersed in the adjacent river. A saint named Ram ji Abadhut, also known as Nrisingha Das Babaji later came to stay in this temple and worked on its restoration.  After Sri Motilal Roy took control of this temple much later, he decided against worshipping of any deity inside it however accepting the advice of Sri Abanindranath Tagore, placed an Omkar on top of a silver Kalash on a raised platform. This temple thus was transpired into a universal place of worship of all faiths and came to be known as Yoga & Brahma Vidya Mandir. The Prabartak Apanalay, a shelter for destitute boys function even today in the building adjacent to this temple at the Prabartak Sangha.

The temple of Prabartak Sangha is a mute testimony to the days of Indian freedom struggle against British colonization.
























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