On 15th May, ISKCON Lucknow celebrated a colorful Rathayatra, followed by Bhumi Puja (ceremony for inauguration of construction) on May 16 on the 5 acres of land that ISKCON has received from the Ansal Builders for a grand new temple.

The city of Lucknow, also known as ‘Laxmanpuri,’ is the capital of Uttar Pradesh, the largest state in the country. The two-day festival was organized by Devkinandan Dasa, ISKCON Zonal Secretary for UP and

Rajasthan, together with Surapati Dasa and Radha Ranjan Dasa, the temple Presidents of

ISKCON Lucknow.

It began with an arati (greeting) ceremony, performed by Sushil Ansal and his wife

Kusum Ansal, who donated the land for the new temple). The honorable Dinesh Sharma,

Mayor of Lucknow, then inaugurated the Rathyatra.

After Mahavishnu Swami spoke on the significance of Rathayatra, the Chariot began moving at 5:30 PM, with thousands of devotees pulling the cart, and the famous book distribution team from ISKCON New Delhi giving out Srila Prabhupada’s books. All along the Rathayatra procession, their Lordships were showered with multitudes of flower petals, with several local residents coming out of their homes and offices to perform arati. The parade finished at 8:30 PM.

The next day, Bhumi Puja was held at the new temple site on Sultanpur Road, a prime location that is part of the 3,500-acre township ‘Sushant Golf City.’

Sitalanga Dasa from Bangalore led the fire sacrifice as the Head Priest. The sacrificial arena consisted of 11 sites, each with a Brahmin performing the sacrifice. Prominent citizens and donors sat at the various sites, with Gopal Krishna Swami Maharaj, Devikinandan Dasa and his wife Surangi Devi, and Sushil Ansal and his wife Kusum Anasal and other family members sitting at the main site.

Sushil Ansal expressed his pleasure in the project and promised to help further in any way that he could, praising ISKCON for its activities of spreading eternal religious principles.

“The 5-acre complex, which will be a world class center for mental peace and spiritualism, is expected to become a new landmark for the historical city of Lucknow,” he told the media.

The project will cost 450 million rupees.