What's Inside?
The temple room, kirtan / katha hall, prasadam hallThe Temple Room
The most sacred space within the palace complex is the main temple room aesthetically clad in white marble and directly facing Giri Govardhan. This former assembly hall of the King is now the residence of the presiding deities, Sri Sri Krishna Balarama, Sri Sri Gaura Nitai, Giriraj Govardhan, and Srila Prabhupada.
The deeply spiritual and sanctified vibrations in the temple room helps one revive one’s dormant spiritual nature and inspires one to get immersed in Vedic rituals, holy chants and highly positive vibrations. One can either spend a quite time here in contemplative meditation, or participate in one or more of the daily sacred ceremonies.
Kirtan / Katha Hall
The palace complex has multiple spaces, both indoors and in the open beneath trees, for kirtan and katha. The roof of the palace building can accommodate 300 devotees and presents an amazing unobstructed close-up view of Sri Govardhan.
The samadhi garden area carpeted with silken sands from the banks of the Yamuna and surrounded by beautiful Kadamba and Tamal trees transports one to the Vraja of the past and can seat over 500 devotees.
The temple hall also serves as a space for Kirtan and Katha. During the month of Kartika, the group of listeners is typically much bigger and classes are moved to the backyard of the palace under the shade of tall Kadamba trees.
Prasadam Hall
The prasadam serving area can easily cater to 30 devotees at a time. However, the ashram has several flexi spaces with the capacity to feed up to 2,000 guests for any meal.
Temple Ashram
The original structure of ISKCON Govardhan Palace was built by Maharaja Bhawani Singh of Chattarpur, Madhya Pradesh, to serve as a summer house for the royal family during their visits to the Holy Dham.
The architectural style of the palace is a beautiful mélange of Rajput and European themes. Built out of limestone and natural materials, the palace has vast courtyards surrounded by several smaller arched spaces. These spaces have now been converted into residential quarters, study rooms, halls and public areas for both resident and visiting devotees.
The first floor of the palace houses the temple room and 5 residential rooms, from which one can relish the beautiful view of Sri Giriraj Govardhan, the gardens and the goshala. The ground floor has a prasadam hall and living spaces including two large dormitories all of which open up to beautiful courtyards.
