Sri Srisri Rada Parhasarathithi is a beautiful ISKCON temple that is located on Hare Krishna hills in east Kailash, Kailash Newhi. The temple is dedicated to Lord Krishna and the goddess Radha, who is worshipped in the form of Radha Parthasarathi. It was inaugurated in 1995 by then-Delhi CM Sahib Singh Verma and Lieutenant Sushma Swaraj.
Architecture
It was designed by architect Achyut Kanvinde in 1993. The temple complex consists of the main shrine and two additional shrines in its vicinity. Radha-Krishnan, Sita-Ram, and Guara-Nitai are the deities that respectively rest in these shrines. The height of a shrine is 90 feet. A kaleidoscopic mosaic illustrating the life and teachings of Krishna looks very beautiful. A parikrama around the perimeter of shrines gives a beautiful view of the temple.
The temple complex is also a center of Vedic culture that provides visitors with information about major Hindu texts in the form of multimedia technologies. It includes the following centers
Mahabharata experience: A laser and sound show that depicts various events in the Mahabharata is shown to the visitors.
Ramayan art gallery: In the art gallery, 30 original art paintings from various countries like the USA, UK, and Russia are displayed for visitors.
Museum of Vedic Culture: It’s a museum inside a temple complex that spreads knowledge about Vedic culture. Various gods and goddesses made of bronze are kept inside the museum.
World’s largest sacred book: The temple contains the largest printed book of the Bhagavad Gita, weighing over 800 kg and measuring 2.8 meters in length.
History
All ISKCON temples around the world are part of the ISKCON movement, which was founded in 1996 by AC Bhakti Vedanta Swami Prabhupada. It was built to spread the beliefs of the Hindu Bhagavad-gita, which was written 5000 years ago. Krishna is considered a god and worshipped as a form of Vishnu under Vaishnavism. Iskcon belongs to Gaudiya-Vaishnavism, where Vaishnavism means worship of Vishnu and Gauda refers to a region in west Bengal.
Isckon believes in bhakti yoga, under which devotees devote themselves to the bhakti of Krishna. As the founder of Isckon, Prabhupada wanted to spread those teachings, so he built many Isckon temples.
Best time to visit
It’s open throughout the year, but best to visit the temple on Janmashtami, an event celebrating Krishna’s birth.
Aarti timing
Mangala Aarti- 4:30 AM
Darshan Aarti- 7:15 AM
Guru Puja- 7:30 AM
Bhagavatam Class- 08:00 AM
Raj Bhoga Aarti- 12:30 PM
Darshan Closes- 01:00 PM
Darshan Reopens- 04:15 PM
Tulsi Aarti- 06:30 PM
Sandhya Aarti- 07:00 PM
Bhagavad Gita Class- 08:00 PM
Shayana Aart- 08:30 PM
How to reach
By road
It’s well-connected to other parts of Delhi, you can take a taxi or public transport to reach the temple.
By train
Nehru place station and Kailash colony station on violet line are the nearest metro station