The supreme Lord Krishna has unlimited spiritual forms that cannot be perceived by material senses . Hence out of His causeless mercy, the Lord descends into the archa vigraha (worshippable Deity form of the Lord), so that He may be visible even to material senses. Hence the archa vigraha is non different from the Lord, and extends Himself to be served by His devotees.

Various archa vigraha forms are manifest at ISKCON Bangalore giving opportunity for thousands of souls to serve. The presiding deities here are: Sri Sri Radha Krishna Chandra, Sri Sri Krishna Balarama, Sri Sri Nitai Gauranga. The other two smaller temples house the Deities of Sri Srinivasa Govinda and Sri Sri Prahlada Narasimha, Sri Hanuman and Sri Garuda Deva.

A dedicated team of pujaris (priests) and their assistants manage the worship of the Lord. The Deity department is headed by Vasudeva Keshava Dasa and his deputy, Guna Bhadra Dasa. Fifteen full time pujaris render service to the Deities throughout the day from 3:45am to 9:00pm, in shifts.

A typical day in this department begins with the jagarana seva and mangalarati. The jagarana seva or awakening of the Lord at 3:45am is followed by a balya bhoga (early morning offering) and then mangalarati at 4:15am.

After mangalarati, the Deities are offered sixteen varieties of services or the shodashopachara inside the sanctum, behind closed doors.

This is followed by a schedule of seven naivedyas (food offerings), six aratis and archana. A grand shayana pallakki or ceremonial circumambulation of the temple by the Deities in a flower bedecked palanquin culminates the worship for the day, after which They are offered to rest (shayana seva) in a special chamber on luxurious beds.

All routine services to the Lord are rendered by the pujaris. Assistant pujaris take care of services like washing and cleansing the Deities’ paraphernalia, ironing the dresses of the Deities, preparing the items required for arati, abhisheka, naivedya and so on. They also clean the rooms where these sevas are organized and decorate the palanquin with fresh flowers every night, in preparation for the shayana pallakki.

Festivals are organized on a grand scale and many more devotees chip in to help in the services. The Deity department on Hare Krishna Hill hums with enthusiastic activity throughout the year, with devotee pujaris serving the all merciful Supreme Lord who has appeared in His archa vigraha form to bless us with His transcendental devotional service, for our eternal welfare.