Chhapaiya is a village in

Gonda District Gonda district (Hindi: गोण्डा/गोंडा, Urdu: گونڈہ) is one of the districts of Uttar Pradesh, India. The city of Gonda is the district headquarters, and also the administrative centre for the Devipatan Division. The t ...

in the Indian state of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

, about 50 km from the district headquarters of Gonda, and 40 km from

Ayodhya Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Ayodhya, also known as Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and setting of the great epic Ramayana. Ayodhy ...

Points of interest

It is the birthplace of

Swaminarayan Swaminarayan ( IAST: ', 3 April 1781 – 1 June 1830), also known as Sahajanand Swami, was a yogi and ascetic, who is believed by followers to be a manifestation of God Krishna, or as the highest manifestation of Purushottam, and arou ...

. Swaminarayan was born there on 3 April 1781 as Ghanshyam. This village became a pilgrimage destination for his followers worldwide. The Swaminarayan temple at Chhapaiya went through renovation completed by 2016.

Place of pilgrimage

The following are holy places in Chhapaiya:

Ghanshyam Bhavan

Ghanshyam Bhavan is a monument sited on Swaminarayan's birthplace. A temple on this place was erected by Acharya Ayodhyaprasadji Maharaj in 1863, after Swaminarayan's passing in 1830. After 47 years another temple was built by Acharya Purushottamprasadji Maharaj in 1910. It is undergoing reconstruction in marble. It was a project started in 2004 by Acharya Tejendraprasadji Maharaj. The marble-decorated room is on the ground floor.

Other sites

Shri Swaminarayan Mandir is near Ghanshyam Bhavan. Narayan Sarovar is the sacred water pool where Ghanshyam often bathed. It is just outside the

mandir A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hind ...

complex. Trikonyu Khetar (Triangular Farm) is where Ghanshyam sent birds into samadhi. Meen Sarovar is a small lake (dry during the summer) where Ghanshyam brought dead fish back to life and instructed the fisherman not to kill fish for a living. A shrine is sited at the place where the demon Kalidutt, who came to kill him was defeated.

Notes

References

* {{Gonda district Swaminarayan Sampradaya Villages in Gonda district https://books.google.com/books?id=AHI7AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA24&lpg=PA24&dq=sahajanand+and+british+raj&source=bl&ots=XOr_i1Edjz&sig=Au9XYUe146jFDgt-R2PAk8LbDRI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiM1Zit5erdAhUIP48KHb1-AGY4ChDoATABegQICBAB#v=onepage&q=sahajanand%20and%20british%20raj&f=false