Hare Krishna Temple

ISKCON has been present in Bulgaria for about two decades. It follows the same standard programs and activities as the rest of the globe. Among these include book distribution, communal singing of the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra, festivals such as Ratha Yatra (held in Bulgaria since 1996), weekly meetings, and spiritual activities for the congregation and newcomers.

The Ratha Yatra festival is the largest celebration conducted by the Bulgarian section of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

The first Rathayatra parade in Bulgaria was held in 1996, the centenary year of the birth of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder-acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. The Bulgarian Rathayatra festival was the first in the Balkans. Ananda Chaitanya Dasa sculpted the deities of Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhadra. Sasa Bindhu Dasa, a recent art college graduate, painted them to resemble the deities in Zurich. Nicki, who studied architecture, created the chariot in accordance with the biblical criteria. And the chariot was built in three months by an older wheelwright in the hamlet of Manolovo, with Nicki and Indrasena Dasa assisting him.

Rathayatra has now been hosted in Sofia every summer for eleven years in a row. After riding through the major streets, Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhadra arrive in a delightful little park full with old trees that graciously shade the deities and followers after the parade under the hot summer heat. The festival grounds are transformed into a garden party. The event includes traditional devotional songs and dances, as well as a presentation on Vedic philosophy. Hundreds of plates of prasadam are handed to visitors and passers-by.