page_title: ISKCON Temple Chennai
section_title: The temple
hierarchical_section_title: ISKCON Temple Chennai / The temple
caption_attribution_description: English: ISKCON Temple Chennai, Statues of Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda, taken on 1-May-2012
context_page_description: ISKCON Temple Chennai is a Vaishnava temple dedicated to Lord Krishna. It is located on the East Coast Road at Akkarai, Sholinganallur in southern Chennai. Built on 1.5 acres of land, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness Chennai is the largest Radha Krishna temple in Tamil Nadu. It was formally inaugurated on 26 April 2012.
context_section_description: ISKCON Temple Chennai is part of the Centre for Spiritual Art and Culture and is located off the East Coast Road at the Hare Krishna land, Sholinganallur. The deities worshipped in the temple include those of Radha Krishna Lalita Vishaka, Jagannath Baladev Subhadra, and Sri Sri Nitai Gauranga.
  Spread over an area of over 1.5 acres, the temple is constructed on five levels. There is a 7,000 sq ft temple hall on the first floor, an auditorium for cultural and spiritual programmes on the ground floor and a prasadam hall in the basement.
  In the temple hall, there are three teak-wood altars which house the deities of Lord Krishna with His consort Radharani and their assisting friends Lalita and Vishaka, Lord Chaitanya with Lord Nityananda and Lord Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra. These deities have been sourced from Jaipur and Orissa. Designed under the guidance of Sri Bhanu Swami, the temple has imbibed various attributes from Vedic scripture and is inspired by the Pallava and Kalinga architecture.
  The entrance to the temple is marked by the representation of the universe or the bhu-mandala on the marble floor. According to the cosmology of ancient Vedic puranas, the universe is described as series of circular islands surrounding a central pillar called Mount Meru. The design on the floor at the entrance depicts the same universal pattern. There is also a life-like statue of a cow feeding its calf at the portico.
  The primary purpose of the temple to transform the material self-centred identity into a spiritual identity of unconditional love is graphically represented by means of a magnificent chandelier that projects various colours on the walls and ceiling. The chandelier has 500 Himalayan quartz crystals supposedly meant to intensify the spiritual energy in the temple.
  The temple also visually displays various vastu shastra features. A booklet explaining all these features is available at the book shop, which is located near the portico. Here you can find books and souvenirs on spirituality and Hindu philosophy. The temple is open from 7:30 am to 1pm and from 4pm to 8:00 pm. However, the last aarati (worship), called the sayana arati, is at 9:00 pm, which lasts about 15 minutes.
caption: Statues of Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda
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