Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami
From the book “Sri Vraja-maṇḍala-parikramā”:
Śrī Keśavajī Gauḍīya Maṭha is adjacent to Śrī Raṅgeśvara Mahādeva and Kaṁsa–ṭīlā, on the right side of the parikramā path and on the left side of the Mathurā–Āgrā road. It is currently a well–known place of darśana.
Ācārya keśarī oṁ viṣṇupāda Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja named this maṭha after the presiding deity of Mathurā, the Supreme Lord of lords, Śrī Keśavajī. From its inauguration, the author of this book was appointed superintendent in order to propagate pure bhakti as practised and preached by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to people in the Hindi speaking areas of India. In a very short time, many books were published from here in Hindi, India’s national language, like Jaiva-dharma, Śrī Śīkṣāṣṭaka, Śrīman Mahāprabhu kī Śikṣā, Upadeśāmṛta, Śrī Manaḥ-śikṣā, Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā and the monthly magazine Śrī Bhāgavata-patrikā. New books about bhakti continue to be published to this day.
Śrī Abhayacaraṇa Bhaktivedānta, who widely spread śrī-harināma-saṅkīrtana in the Western world as preached by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and who extensively published and distributed Śrīmad Bhagavad- gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and many other devotional scriptures in many languages of the world, accepted the renounced order of life (tridaṇḍa-sannyāsa) at this place from oṁ viṣṇupāda Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja. He accepted the sannyāsa name and title of trid aṇḍi-svāmī Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja. The author of this book was the priest at this ceremony.
Rajashekhara Dasa
From the book “Chaurasi-kosa Vraja Mandala Parikrama”:
This is the famous temple where in 1959, Shrila Prabhupada accepted the order of tridandi-sannyasa from his beloved god-brother, His Holiness Bhakti Prajnana Keshava Maharaja. The Deity of Lord Chaitanya that can be seen standing on the simhasana next to Radha and Krishna was presented to the Keshava Gaudiya Math by Shrila Prabhupada when Shrila Prabhupada came from Allahabad on a visit to Mathura and Vrindavana. Shrila Prabhupada also spent some time at the Keshava Gaudiya Math in 1958, after leaving Jhansi were he had opened a preaching center under the name of ‘League of Devotees’. While staying at the math Shrila Prabhupada was engaged in editing periodicals and training the younger brahmacharis in sadhana-bhakti.
