Mayapur ISKCON Temple

Mayapur ISKCON Temple is the international headquarters of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, located on the banks of the Ganga in Mayapur, Nadia district, West Bengal, India. The town is regarded by devotees as the birthplace of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the fifteenth-century Bengali saint whose teachings inspired the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition. The site draws pilgrims from India and from abroad throughout the year.

The complex includes the existing temple of Sri Sri Radha Madhava, a large gold-toned deity hall, guesthouses, gardens, a vegetarian restaurant and a bookshop. Next to it, an extremely large new temple, the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium, has been under construction for years, with its tall domed design intended to host exhibits on Vedic cosmology. Visitors can walk through landscaped grounds with flowering trees and shrines, and the riverside setting gives open views across the Ganga.

The temple follows a daily schedule that starts early. It is open from about 4:30 AM to 1:00 PM and again from 4:00 PM to 8:30 PM, with the morning arati, kirtan singing and the evening ceremonies the most atmospheric times to attend. A visit generally takes two to four hours, longer if visitors join a program or eat at the on-site restaurant. Entry is free, and shoes must be left outside before entering the temple halls.

The busiest period is Gaura Purnima in February or March, which marks Chaitanya's birth and brings very large crowds, and also the autumn festival season. Weekdays outside festivals are calmer. Visitors should dress modestly, with shoulders and knees covered, and follow the rules about food and conduct. Mayapur can be reached by train to Krishnanagar or Navadwip, followed by a road transfer, and by direct road from Kolkata in around three to four hours. Many pilgrims stay in the temple guesthouses.