ISKCON Temple Bangalore

ISKCON Bangalore
Temple at night
ISKCON Bangalore Location in Bangalore
Name
Proper name	Sri Radha Krishnachandra Temple
Geography
Coordinates	13°0′34″N 77°33′3″E / 13.00944°N 77.55083°E / 13.00944; 77.55083Coordinates: 13°0′34″N 77°33′3″E / 13.00944°N 77.55083°E / 13.00944; 77.55083
Country	India
State	Karnataka
District	Bangalore
Location	Rajajinagar
Culture
Primary deity	Sri Sri Radha Krishna-chandra
Important festivals	Janamashtami
Architecture
Architectural styles	Hindu temple architecture
Number of temples	3
History and governance
Date built	1997
Website	ISKCON Bangalore [3]

Sri Radha Krishna Temple ( Kannada - ಶ್ರೀ ರಾಧಾ ಕೃಷ್ಣ ಮಂದಿರ ) has deities of Radha and Krishna located at Rajajinagar, in North Bangalore, Karnataka, India. It is one of the largest ISKCON ritvik temples in the world. The temple is a huge cultural complex that was inaugurated in 1997 by Shankar Dayal Sharma. The project was conceived and executed by Madhu Pandit Dasa.

Hare Krishna Hill is the hillock on which this temple is situated. ISKCON Bangalore is a charitable society with the objective of propagating Krishna Consciousness all over the world, as explained by Srila Prabhupada, whose teachings are based on Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam.

In 1987, the society was operating from a rented house in Bangalore. In the year 1987, the leaders of the society applied to Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) for allotment of land to construct a grand temple and cultural complex. The land was allotted on August 3, 1988 – a seven-acre hillock, which was nothing but a huge piece of monolithic rock that could not be converted into sites. The BDA described it as “karaab land” (waste land). A temporary shed was constructed to set up a makeshift temple and the Deities of Sri Sri Krishna Balarama moved to this shed on the appearance day of Lord Balarama (September 1988).

Around 1976, 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. The society was registered in the year 1978 under the Karnataka Societies Registration Act, 1960. The objects of the society are derived from the Seven Purposes of ISKCON as stated by Srila Prabhupada. In May 1997, Bangalore ISKCON Temple was inaugurated by the ninth president of India - Shankar Dayal Sharma.

There is a gold-plated dhwaja-stambha (flag post) 17 m (56 ft) high and a gold plated kalash shikara 8.5 m (28 ft) high. There is free distribution of Sri Krishna prasadam to all visitors during the darshana hours.

ISKCON Bangalore has six shrines:

The temple is open from 4:15 am to 5:00 am. The day begins with a Grand arati ceremony called mangala-arati followed by worship of Tulasi Devi, Sri Narasimha Arati and Suprabhata Seva for Sri Srinivasa Govinda. The temple again opens at 7:15 am for Shringara Darshana Arati. 5:15 am to 7:15 am: Japa Meditation session. The temple remains open till 1:00 pm. In the evening the temple is open from 4:15 pm to 8:15 pm. During weekends and public holidays Temple timings are 4:15 am to 5:00 am and 7:00 am to 8:30 pm without any break in the afternoon. The evening arati starts at 7:00 pm where devotees sing kirtan. In the main temple the arati is performed by three priests. This arati is followed again by kirtan where devotees can be seen dancing to the rhythm of "Hare Krishna Hare Rama".