BANGALORE: The "Garbhagudi" at the temple of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) on Hare Krishna Hill near Rajajinagar here has been covered by gold weighing 1.5 kg to mark the celebration of Sri Krishna Jayanthi.

The gold covering is over the dome atop the main sanctum. Twenty-three artisans worked for over 16 months to fabricate the gold covering on to copper sheets which were shaped over the dome.

On Monday and Tuesday the ISKCON temple was crowded with devotees and the premises were decorated with flowers and lamps.

The temple was kept open from 9 a.m. to 10.30 p.m. on both days for devotees to have darshan of the deity and watch the abhishekas and arathis. Special arrangements were made by the temple authorities for the aged, invalid and physically challenged persons to make their way to the top of the hill and offer their prayers.

One of the features of the festival was the Jhulan Seva, a ritual where devotees rock the cradle with Krishna's idol in it. There were special arrangements for those who wanted to participate in this ritual. For the second consecutive year, ISKCON also decided to distribute "prasada" to prisoners at the Bangalore Central Jail. More than 5,000 prisoners received sweets.

To mark the cultural significance of Krishna Janmashtami, a special music concert, "Sri Krishna Panchamrita" has been organised for August 16, directed by Suma Sudhindra. The concert will be held in the open air auditorium of the temple. Twenty vocalists, 10 violinists, 15 veena players, eight percussionists, five flautists and one guitarist will be part of the concert.

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