Vaikuntha Ekadashi, a festival glorifying Lord Srinivasa Govinda (Lord Venkateshwara), was celebrated this year in the most grand manner on 17th December, 2010. With over one lakh devotees thronging the temple, the ISKCON Bangalore temple complex was a hub of several activities. This year the festival was celebrated at two venues- The Hare Krishna Hill, in Rajajinagar and at Vaikuntha Hill which is off Kanakapura main road.

It is very auspicious to receive the darshan of the Lord before beginning their day. Many devotees assembled at the Srinivasa Govinda temple as early as 3:00 am in the morning to be blessed with the darshan of Lord Srinivasa Govinda and later to pass through the Vaikuntha Dwara. The first seva offered to Lord Srinivasa Govinda was the Suprabhata Seva which commenced at 3:00 am. Devotees indulged in spiritual elation as they sang the suprabhata to wake Their Lordship up. A special arati followed the suprabhata seva. By 4:00 am, an elaborate abhisheka was performed on the Moolah Deity at the Srinivasa Govinda temple. The abhisheka is very special as The Deity is bathed with panchamruta, Panchagavya, herbal extracts, scented water, exotic fruit juices, flowers etc. The abhisheka is performed once in a year only on the occasion of Vaikuntha Ekadashi.

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At 5:00 am, Sri Radha Krishna Chandra adorned in Lakshmi alankara and Anantashayana alankara respectively were taken around in a procession in a pallaki. Various sevas were offered to Their Lordships during the pallaki utsava.

As the Pallaki utsava concluded, by 6:00 am Their Lordships were accommodated on the Vaikuntha Dwara and the Vaikunta Dwara programme began. Devotees sang kirtans followed by a 'Nadaseva' for the pleasure of Their Lordships. Sri Chanchalapati Das spoke on the occasion and illustrated the importance of Vaikunta Ekadashi. As the Vaikuntha Dwara was opened, Srila Pabhupada on a pallaki was the first to enter through the Dwara followed by all other devotees. On the Vaikunta Dwara, along with Deities of Sri Radha Krishna-chandra decorated in the Anantashayana and Lakshmi Devi alankara, the other Deities residing were Brahma and His eternal consort Saraswati Devi, Lord Shiva and His eternal consort Parwati Devi and the four Kumaras.

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Among the several sevas which were performed to The Lord, the Nijapada darshana seva and tomala seva are the most significant ones. The Nijapada darshana seva is performed once annually on Vaikuntha Ekadashi where sevakartas get to receive darshan of the Lotus Feet of Lord Srinivasa Govinda after the abhisheka.

Deities of Sri Krishna Balaram also received the Pushpanjali Seva. Devotees and pilgrims who visited the temple participated and performed various sevas including ‘Vaikuntha Dwara’ seva, performed at the Vaikuntha Dwara where a special arati was offered to Their Lordships, Sri Radha Krishna Chandra on behalf of the sevakartas.

One of the sevas performed at the Srinivasa Govinda temple was the ‘Laksharchana seva’ where 40 devotees chant the Krishna ashtotara names summing the total chants to over one lakh names of Lord Krishna. ‘Kunkumarchana seva’ was another seva where devotees chanted the names of Lakshmi Devi and offered kumkum(vermillion) to The Lotus Feet.

The main temple hall in the Sri Radha Krishna - chandra reverberated sweet melody of Bhajans and kirtans being sung in praise of Lord Srinivasa Govinda's name, by over 20 artists throughout the day.

Click here to view Vaikuntha Ekadashi 2010 Festival Photo Gallery 

With the thought that over a lakh devotees visit the temple to receive the blessings of Lord Srinivasa Govinda, arrangements to provide adequate free prasadam were made. special sabu dana(tapioca pearls) payasam was distributed to all who visited the temple. 17 large cauldrons of special payasam was prepared to cater to this requirement. The payasam was specially prepared with sabu dana(tapioca pearls) for the benefit of devotees maintaining a fast on Vaikuntha Ekadashi. With such a large number of devotees visiting the temple, adequate security measures were also planned. Over 200 police personnel were stationed in the temple complex for the security and safety of pilgrims. there were also ambulances and a fire engine stationed as a precautionary measure.