Vrddha Siva Ghat (Prauḍhā Māyā)

Information – The Simul tree is honored as the sacred site of Gauranga Ghat, a location identified by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur. On January 27, 2023, ISKCON Mayapur organized a Harinam Sankirtan procession with Siva Linga and Nitai Gaur Sundar deities. The procession started from the Radha Madhava courtyard and made its way to Vrddha Siva Ghat to seek the blessings of Lord Siva. Presently, the Siva Linga is residing in the ISKCON Pujari room, where it continues to receive Mahaprasad.

vṛddha — old men (CC Adi 7.25)

Vṛddha means “old men.” There are two kinds of old men: one is old by age, and another is old by knowledge. This Sanskrit word indicates that one can be older by the advancement of knowledge.
(SB 4.16.16 purport)

There at the border of Mayapur, Jiva saw the Vrddha Siva Temple. Nityananda Prabhu said, he is the guardian of Mayapur. This is where the Praudha Maya Shakti, yogamaya (in charge of spiritual perception) is eternally situated.
All these ghats on the bank of the Ganges will again be manifest and the devotees will built temples of the Lord. One exceedingly wonderful temple will appear from which Gauranga’s eternal service will preach everywhere. Praudha Maya and Vrddha Siva will again come and perform their duties of revealing the spiritual dham according to the Lord’s desire.
Six Meters from Vrddha Siva Ghat, see Gauranga’s own ghat. There Gaura hari in his childhood played in the water and pulled many pranks.
(Sri Navadvipa-Dhama-Mahatmya, Chapter 5)

“When Sankarācārya came to this place, Gauracandra appeared to him in a dream and mercifully spoke to him in sweet words, ‘You are My servant. Following My orders, you are preaching effectively the Māyāvāda doctrine. But as Navadvipa-dhāma is very dear to Me, the Māyāvāda philosophy has no place here. On My behalf, Vṛddha Siva and Prauḍhā Māyā spread the imaginary impersonal interpretations of scriptures, but only to those people who envy the devotees of the Lord. In this way I cheat them. Since this Navadvīpa-dhāma is generally a place for My devotees, not for the envious, you should go somewhere else. Do not contaminate the inhabitants of Navadvipa.’
(Sri Navadvipa-Dhama-Mahatmya, Chapter 15)

Though one is thinking, I am in Navadvīpa,’ Prauḍhā Māyā happily keeps that person far away from the dhāma. But if by some great fortune one receives the association of a devotee, that relationship, or sambandha, with Śrī Caitanya will be established.
“This topic of sambandha is a deep thing, O son of Vallabha, a treasure that the conditioned souls cannot easily understand. Even if one calls out the name of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya with seeming affection, if that relationship is not established in his heart, he simply remains in the material realm. Such a person resides on top of the dhama’s illusory covering and never attains pure bhakti.
(Sri Navadvipa-Dhama-Mahatmya, Chapter 18)

O Navadvipa-dhāma, show favour on me and appear in my heart, so that I may be delivered. O Prauḍhā Māyā, protecting goddess, please be genuinely merciful, for you are the only hope to cross over the obstacles due to ignorance. Vṛddha Śiva, protector of the dhama, be compassionate on me, let the transcendental dhāma be revealed to my eyes.
(Sri Navadvipa-Dhama-Mahatmya, Chapter 18)

“As the external energy of Lord Hari, you give difficulties to the conditioned souls. By your influence, you hide from them the brilliant sunlike Lord of Antardvipa. For that reason Yogapitha is known as Māyāpur, the city covered by Maya, and you are known as Praudhā Māyā. But when Gaurasundara goes to Pulina, then take shelter at Vamsi-vata and attend to the devotees.
“I am known as Vṛddha Siva. Following the Lord’s order, I delude the materialistic fools by means of various false scriptures. And through your power, I am able to enhance the pastimes of Lord Sri Caitanya.
(Sri Navadvipa-Dhama-Mahatmya, Pramana-Khanda, Chapter 4)

To the southwest, the Ganges and Yamuna, considering their own good fortune, twist like a serpent as they flow. They come to serve Gaura, the jewel of the twice-born. Upon the Ganges’s banks are many ghātas, gardens, and temples of deities such as Praudha Maya and Vṛddha Siva.
(Sri Navadvipa Bhava-taranga)