International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)
Organisation · Sridham Mayapur, Nadia district, West Bengal (world headquarters)
ISKCON is a Gaudiya Vaishnava movement devoted to Krishna, with its world headquarters at Mayapur in West Bengal. There the huge Temple of the Vedic Planetarium is being built beside the Chandrodaya Mandir. Major Indian temples include the Krishna-Balaram Mandir in Vrindavan, Radha Rasabihari in Juhu (Mumbai), Radha Parthasarathi in Delhi, and temples in Chennai and Tirupati. In Bengaluru, ISKCON Bangalore and ISKCON Mumbai have fought a long legal battle. On 16 May 2025 the Supreme Court held that ISKCON Bangalore owns the Hare Krishna Hill temple. A review plea by ISKCON Mumbai was split in November 2025 and was listed again before a bench headed by the Chief Justice in October 2026.
How it is run
Founded by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in New York on 13 July 1966. Its central authority is the Governing Body Commission (GBC), set up in 1970. In India, temples are run by locally registered ISKCON societies. The Bengaluru Hare Krishna Hill temple belongs to the separate ISKCON Bangalore society, which does not accept the GBC's authority.
Tips for pilgrims
- Most ISKCON temples open around 4:30 am for mangala aarti and close for a midday break. Check each temple's website.
- Mayapur guest-house rooms can be booked on mayapur.com. Book early for Gaura Purnima (February–March).
- ISKCON Bangalore (Hare Krishna Hill) and its associated centres are run separately from GBC-ISKCON temples, so check which society runs the temple you are visiting.
Temples it runs
- Sri Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir and Temple of the Vedic Planetarium (TOVP) – Sridham Mayapur, Nadia district
- ISKCON Juhu (Sri Sri Radha Rasabihari) – Juhu, Mumbai
- ISKCON Temple, Chennai (Sri Sri Radha Krishna) – Sholinganallur, Chennai
- ISKCON Temple, Delhi (Sri Sri Radha Parthasarathi) – East of Kailash, New Delhi
- ISKCON Temple, Tirupati (Sri Sri Radha Govinda) – Tirupati
- Sri Krishna-Balaram Mandir, Vrindavan – Raman Reti, Vrindavan, Mathura district
- Sri Radha Krishna Temple, Hare Krishna Hill, Bengaluru – Rajajinagar, Bengaluru