Vaikuntha Ekadashi celebrations at ISKCON Bangalore

: 22-12-2023

ISKCON Bangalore will be celebrating Vaikuntha Ekadashi at Hare Krishna Hill and Vaikuntha Hill temples on December 23, 2023. This is one of the most important festivals when devotees visit temples to enter the Vaikuntha Dwara (the door to the spiritual world, a special entrance to Vaikuntha). The Vaikuntha Dwara is opened only once a year on Vaikuntha Ekadashi. It is believed that anyone who enters the Vaikuntha Dwara on this day will attain the divine abode of Lord Vishnu.

ISKCON Bangalore will be organising various events at Hare Krishna Hill and Vaikuntha Hill temples on this occasion. Both temples will provide an enriching experience through special darshan, melodious kirtans, and sacred Vedic mantra chants. Over 50000 thousand laddoos and over a lakh leaf cups of festival prasadam will be distributed to all the visitors and pilgrims.

The festivities will commence at 3 am with the Suprabhata seva for Sri Srinivasa Govinda at Hare Krishna Hill and Sri Rajadhiraja Govinda at Vaikuntha Hill. The presiding Deities will be adorned with new garments and fragrant flower garlands. Kalyanotsava, the divine marriage of Sri Krishna with His consorts Sri Rukmini and Sri Satyabhama, will be conducted. Laksharchana seva will be performed by chanting 1 lakh names of Lord Krishna throughout the day. Kunkumarchana seva will be offered to Srimati Rajalakshmi Padmavati Devi at Sri Rajadhiraja Govinda Temple at Vaikuntha Hill. These special ceremonies will invoke auspiciousness and bring good fortune to society. The temples will be open to visitors for darshan from 8 am onwards. These programmes will be live-streamed on our official website (www.iskconbangalore.org) and social media platforms.

Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa, President of ISKCON Bangalore, said, “Vaikuntha Ekadashi is the day when the Lord mercifully comes to receive His devotees at the entrance of the temple. We invite you to participate in our spiritual and cultural programmes with your family and friends. We fervently pray to the Lord to bless everyone with health, happiness and devotion.”