Sri Radha Krishna-Chandra Mandir or ISKCON Bangalore temple is a Gaudiya Vaishnava temple (Chaitanya Mahaprabhu) of Krishna and Radha located at
Rajajinagar, in the North Bangalore,
Karnataka,
India. It is one of the largest ISKCON temples in the
World. The temple is a huge cultural complex that was inaugurated in 1997 to carry out the vision of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the Founder-Acarya of ISKCON to promote Vedic culture and spiritual learning.
History of ISKCON In Bangalore:
Around 1976, the devotees from different parts of India and the world had initiated activities of ISKCON in different parts of South India like Bangalore,
Hubli, Madras, etc. Sankirtans in the streets, enrolling Life Members, arranging programs in the houses, and arranging large public programs in pandals were being conducted.In May 1997, Bangalore Iskcon Temple was inaugurated by former president of India - Shankar Dayal Sharma.
Features Of The Temple:
The gold-plated dwajastambha (flag post) at 17m (56 ft) high and the gold plated kalash shikara at 8.5m (28 ft) high, shimmer in the night sky, leaves the onlooker speechless. Yet another salient feature of the temple is the free distribution of delicious Sri Krishna prasadam to all the visitors during the darshana hours.
Amenities:
Meticulously clean surroundings, drinking water, hygienic washrooms, elevators for senior citizens and the specially-abled, adequate car parking, visible signboards, a variety of eatables, etc. are some of the well thought of amenities for visitors.
Darshana Timings:
ISKCON does not discriminate its visitors on the basis of religion, color or socio-economic status. The temple is open for darshana from 4.15 am to 5 am, 7.15 am to 12.50 pm and 4 pm to 8.20 pm everyday.
Shrines (Altars):
ISKCON Bangalore has six shrines:-
- Main shrine is of Radha-Krishna.
- Krishna Balrama.
- Nitai Gauranga (Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda).
- Srinivasa Govinda ( also known as Venkateswara ).
- Prahlada Narasimha.
- Srila Prabhupada.
Festivals:
ISKCON Bangalore celebrates festivals that are either related to avatars of Lord Vishnu or with Vedic culture. Main festivals that are celebrated within the temple are:
- Rama Navami
- Brahmotsava
- Narasimha Jayanti
- Panihati Chida-dahi
- Ratha Yatra
- Balaram Jayanti
- Jhulan Utsav
- Sri Krishna Janmashtami
- Vyasa Puja
- Sri Radhashtami
- Deepotsava
- Govardhan Puja
- Vaikuntha Ekadashi
- Nityananda Trayodashi
- Gaura Poornima
- Krishna Shringar
- Kumbhabhishek
