Appearance Day of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada

Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakura Prabhupad was born in 1873 at Jagannatha Puri. His father, Kedar Dutta Bhaktivinoda Thakura, was magistrate of the city and superintendent of Jagannatha temple. Once, during the Ratha yatra festival, the car stopped in front of the family’s house. Taking the opportunity, the mother of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakura Prabhupad came out with the baby and put him on the Lotus Feet of Jagannatha. A garland from the hand of Jagannatha fell down on the baby.

 Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakura Prabhupad was educated in Calcutta and became learned in Mathematics and Astronomy. In his childhood he once took a mango which was meant as an offering for the Deity. When his father rebuked him, saying that he should not have taken the fruit which was meant for the Lord, the child took it very seriously and thought himself a great offender, promising not to take mango again throughout his whole life. He was known as Bimal Prasad Dutta before his renunciation. On account of his writing a book on astronomy known as Surya Siddhanta, he received the title Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupad. And, when he took sannyasa, preaching the gospel of Lord Chaitanya, he was known as Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakura Prabhupad. He was acclaimed a great scholar in Calcutta, and the celebrated Dr. Kalidas Nag used to call him ‘a living encyclopedia’.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura trained his son in childhood for preaching, and, after taking sannyasa, Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakura Prabhupad started the Gaudiya Mission Institution. He started 64 branches of the Gaudiya Math all over World.