ISKCON Kolkata (Sri Sri Radha Govinda Mandir)
Kolkata, West Bengal, India
- Deities
- Radha Govinda (Krishna)
- Traditions
- vaishnava
- Worship status
- active
- Address
- 3C Albert Road, near Birla High School, Minto Park, Kolkata 700017
- Darshan hours
- Varies by temple and season; consult the temple's own website for the current daily schedule before visiting.
- Best time to visit
- Janmashtami (Aug/Sep); Gaura Purnima (Feb/Mar) is also significant given Kolkata's place in Gaudiya Vaishnavism.
- How to reach
- At Minto Park on Albert Road in central Kolkata, near Birla High School; reachable by road or Kolkata Metro.
- Festivals
- Janmashtami (August/September)
- Associated saints
- A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Location
Open in Google MapsKolkata (Calcutta) holds special significance for ISKCON as the birthplace of its founder, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, and as the city from which he sailed for New York in 1965 to begin the mission that grew into the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. On 13 August 2015 — the fiftieth anniversary of that departure — a two-part bronze monument by Ukrainian sculptor Volodymyr Zhuravel was unveiled in Kolkata by the Governor of West Bengal, Keshari Nath Tripathi, together with then Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Kiran Bedi; one half of the monument, depicting Prabhupada’s departure, was installed at the ISKCON temple in Kolkata, while the other half, depicting his arrival, was placed in front of ISKCON’s temple in Boston.
Today ISKCON Kolkata’s Sri Sri Radha Govinda Mandir stands at 3C Albert Road in the Minto Park area of central Kolkata, near Birla High School. The temple maintains a guesthouse, the Govinda’s restaurant, a book and gift shop, guided Shri Dham Darshan tours, and congregational programs such as Bhakti Vriksha study groups and an ISKCON Youth Forum, alongside the standard cycle of daily arati, darshan, and prasadam distribution.
Sources
- historical record: Cross-checked against ISKCON Kolkata's official website (iskconkolkata.com) during authoring: confirms the temple's name (Sri Sri Radha Govinda Mandir), its address (3C Albert Road, near Birla High School, Minto Park, Kolkata 700017), and facilities (guesthouse, Govinda's restaurant, book distribution, Bhakti Vriksha groups); the site did not state a specific temple establishment/inauguration year.
- historical record: Cross-checked against Wikipedia's A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada article: confirms that on 13 August 2015, the fiftieth anniversary of Prabhupada's 1965 departure from Kolkata to the United States, a two-part bronze monument by Ukrainian sculptor Volodymyr Zhuravel was unveiled in Kolkata by the Governor of West Bengal, Keshari Nath Tripathi, and (then) Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry Kiran Bedi; the 'departure' half was installed at the ISKCON temple in Kolkata, the 'arrival' half in front of ISKCON's temple in Boston.
For review
- The specific year this Albert Road temple building was established/inaugurated could not be confirmed via the sources reviewed during authoring.