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Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir
Temple of the Vedic Planetarium
Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir; Temple of the Vedic Planetarium
	A view of the Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir from the Ganges (Hoogli)
Religion
Affiliation	Hindu temple
Festival	Chandan Yatra; Ratha Yatra; Radhashtami;
Governing body	ISKCON
Location
Location	Mayapur
State	West Bengal
Country	India
Architecture
Founder	A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Website
	tovp.org

Temple of the Vedic Planetarium (also called Sri Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir), is a modern Hindu temple complex under construction since 2009 dedicated to the Pancha-Tattva deities, Radha Madhava, and Ashta-sakhis, and Narasimha, located in the town of Mayapur in West Bengal, India. It will be the largest religious monument in the world after completion of construction, and is scheduled to open in 2026. The project Chairman is Alfred Brush Ford, also known as Ambarish Das, great-grandson of Henry Ford, and an initiated disciple of Srila Prabhupada.^[2]

It is a temple of great significance to the Hindu community of Gaudiya Vaishnavism following Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. This temple is the main tourist center of Mayapur and the World Headquarters of International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

Location

The temple is located in the Ganges Delta region at the confluence of the Ganges and Jalangi rivers in the Nadia district of the Indian state West Bengal. The area is located 11 metres (36 ft) above the mean sea level.^[3] Ganges flows on the western side of the temple premises, while Jalangi river flows on the southern side. The Temple of the Vedic Planetarium is part of the ISKCON complex in Mayapur, identified by Bhaktivinoda Thakur in 1894 as the true birthplace of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.^[4] A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada founded Mayapur as a place of pilgrimage in the 20th century.^[5]

Architecture

The temple or temple complex consists of several buildings and structures, namely the Sri Sri Radha Madhava Mandir, Srila Prabhupada's Pushpa Samadhi Mandir and Srila Prabhupada's Bhajan Kutir.^[6] Also a large temple under construction named Temple of the Vedic Planetarium^[7] belongs to the Mayapur Chandradoya Mandir premises.^[8]

The Temple of the Vedic Planetarium's blue dome, inspired by the Capitol Building, features intricate Vedic cosmological elements like Mount Meru and a "universal chandelier", symbolizing a unique fusion of architecture and spirituality.^[9]

Shrines

The main altar of Sri Sri Radha Madhav Mandir has a life size Radha Madhav, surrounded by Ashta-sakhis (eight principal gopi friends). Madhava (Krishna) stands in flute-playing posture, and Radha stands on his left. There is a second altar for Pancha Tattva (Sri Chaitanya and his four associates).^[10] In the center of this temple is the merciful deity of Nrisimhadeva. The deity was installed here after the temple was attacked by dacoits in 1986. A large brass idol of Srila Prabhupada is worshiped at the Pushpa Samadhi Mandir. The Samadhi Mandir has extensive gardens. A large diorama exhibit inside the mausoleum depicts the life of Srila Prabhupada and his struggle to establish ISKCON. The outer walls of the temple are decorated with terra-cotta art depicting various descriptions of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Bhajan Kutir is a renovated thatched hut where Srila Prabhupada stayed from 1972 to 1973 when the first main building (Lotus Building) was built. The Kutir has an deity of Nitai Gaurasundar made of neemwood. The Temple of Vedic Planetarium houses the deity of Radhakrishna, a combined form of the Hindu god Krishna with his chief consort and shakti Radha.^[8]

References

^ "Iskcon Mayapur celebrates Rath Yatra". www.thestatesman.com. 2 July 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
^ "Alfred Ford News Photo GUJARAT: American businessman Al..." Times Of India.
^ "Mayapur topographic maps, elevation, terrain". Topographic maps. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
^ Sarbadhikary 2015, p. 43, 151.
^ Fahy 2017, p. 334.
^ "Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir". www.mayapur.com. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
^ "Vedic Planetarium, world's largest temple, to open in Bengal | 10 things to know". www.hindustantimes.com. Hindustan Times. 27 August 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
^ ^a ^b "ISKCON Mayapur Campus". www.mayapur.com. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
^ Hawley, John Stratton (2019-11-30). Krishna’s Playground: Vrindavan in the 21st Century. Oxford University Press. p. 199. ISBN 978-0-19-099134-0.
^ "New Ceiling Painting Wows at Italy's Villaggio Hare Krishna". ISKCON News. 2014-08-28.

Sources

Fahy, John (September 2017). "Failing well: Accommodating vices in an ideal Vedic City". Hau: Journal of Ethnographic Theory. 7 (2): 331–350. doi:10.14318/hau7.2.030. Retrieved 14 October 2023. Prabhupad's vision for Mayapur has been the catalyst for dramatic social, economic, and infrastruc-tural development over the last forty years, which has accelerated markedly since 2009 with the beginning of construction work on what will be one of the largest Hindu temples in the world, the Temple of Vedic Planetarium (TOVP).
Sarbadhikary, Sukanya (2015). The Place of Devotion: Siting and Experiencing Divinity in Bengal-Vaishnavism. Univ of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-96266-8.