ISKCON
ISKCON Mayapur Chandrodaya Temple
Mayapur, Nadia district, West Bengal
ISKCON's world headquarters — the birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
At a glance
- Location
- Mayapur, Nadia district, West Bengal
- Presiding deity
- Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Radha-Madhava
- Temple type
- ISKCON
- Tradition
- Vaishnava
- Nearest railway station
- Nabadwip Dham railway station (~2 km, via a ferry across the Ganga); Krishnanagar City Junction (~20 km, more train options)
- Nearest airport
- Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata (~130 km)
- Best time to visit
- October to March; Gaura Purnima (Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's birth anniversary) is celebrated with grand festivities.
History
Mayapur is revered in the Vaishnava tradition as the birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (15th century), who spread the Bhakti movement and congregational chanting (sankirtan) widely across Bengal. It was here that A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, ISKCON's founder, envisioned establishing the movement's world headquarters. A grand "Temple of the Vedic Planetarium" is currently under construction here, expected to become one of the largest temple complexes in the world.
Spiritual significance
Mayapur sits at the confluence of the Ganga (called the Bhagirathi here) and Jalangi rivers, and is considered by followers of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition to be as sacred as Vrindavan.
Plan your visit
Darshan timings
4:30 AM to 9:00 PM, with multiple daily aartis from Mangala Aarti to the night Shayan Aarti.
Timings change on festivals and special occasions. Confirm with the temple's official source before you travel.
From Kolkata, take a train to Nabadwip Dham, then cross the Ganga by ferry to reach Mayapur. Direct buses and taxis are also available from Kolkata by road (roughly 3.5-4 hours).
Continue your Krishna bhakti
Devotional texts for this deity, already on the site.