The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is preparing to celebrate Radhashtami — the birth anniversary of Srimati Radharani, consort of Lord Krishna — with grandeur and devotion at its global headquarters in Mayapur, West Bengal, on Sunday, 31 August 2025. The festival, one of the most significant in the Vaishnava calendar, will also be observed across ISKCON centres worldwide.

According to ISKCON’s public relations officer, Rasik Gauranga Das, the Mayapur temple complex will be decorated with flowers and lights, with thousands of devotees from India and abroad expected to participate in the celebrations. Authorities said special arrangements are being made for crowd management and security as pilgrims are likely to gather in large numbers.

Radhashtami, which falls on the eighth day of the bright fortnight of the month of Bhadra in the Hindu lunar calendar, marks the appearance of Radharani more than 5,200 years ago in the village of Raval, near Vrindavan, as the daughter of King Vrishabhanu and Queen Kirtida. In the Vaishnava tradition, Radharani is revered as the embodiment of divine love and the feminine counterpart of Krishna.

“Just as milk and its whiteness or fire and its burning power cannot be separated, so too Radha and Krishna are one soul in two forms,” explained Rasik Gauranga Das. “Her pure, unconditional love for Krishna represents the highest form of devotion. If humanity can imbibe even a fraction of that love, it will bring blessings to the entire world.”

The festival will include traditional rituals, devotional singing (bhajans and kirtans), scriptural discourses, cultural performances, and distribution of sanctified food (prasadam). In Mayapur, ISKCON leaders will also lead prayers for peace and spiritual awakening in the face of global conflicts and crises.

ISKCON officials said the Radhashtami celebrations are not limited to India. From New York to London, Nairobi to Sydney, and in more than 700 ISKCON centres around the world, devotees are preparing similar events. In London’s Bhaktivedanta Manor, for instance, thousands of worshippers are expected to gather for special midnight prayers, while in New York, the festival will include a cultural parade and community feast.

For ISKCON, which has grown into a global spiritual movement since its founding in 1966, Radhashtami is not only a religious observance but also an occasion to highlight Radharani’s message of unconditional love and the power of the feminine principle.

“Her life and teachings remind us that only the awakening of true maternal strength can lead humanity towards light,” said an ISKCON spokesperson. “On this auspicious day, we pray for her grace to guide society towards peace, unity and higher consciousness.”