The temple at Hansi Gita Bhawan seen straight on, its white shikhara rising above the open doors of the sanctum

Photo gallery|चित्र दीर्घा

The Bhawan, as it stands.

Every photograph here was taken at Hansi Gita Bhawan. Nothing is a stock picture of somewhere else.

What does Hansi Gita Bhawan look like?

A temple on Bhagat Singh Road with gardens, a hall and an open campus around it, on land held since about 1952. Every photograph on this page was taken at Hansi Gita Bhawan — the temple outside and at night, the deities installed inside it, the grounds and the open-air gym, and what happens here: satsang, havan, festival days, prasad. Nothing is a stock picture of somewhere else.

Hansi Gita Bhawan Trust · Deed of Trust, registered 3 October 1968

The temple

The temple on Bhagat Singh Road.

The land has been held since about 1952; the Trust was registered on 3 October 1968.

The temple at Hansi Gita Bhawan from the side, showing the hall alongside the sanctum — The temple and hall

The brick approach to the temple at Hansi Gita Bhawan in the early morning, benches and young trees along one side and a child’s ride-on toy left on the path — The path up to the temple, early morning

The temple and forecourt at Hansi Gita Bhawan, with benches and trees along the approach — The approach to the temple

The temple at Hansi Gita Bhawan lit after dark, the shikhara picked out against the night sky — The temple after the evening aarti

The gate at Hansi Gita Bhawan on Bhagat Singh Road, the name board above the arch — The gate on Bhagat Singh Road

The memorial on the Trust grounds honouring the founders of Hansi Gita Bhawan — Memorial to the founders, on the grounds

The temple shikharas at Hansi Gita Bhawan lit with strings of lights at night, seen across the garden and a young tree — The temple lit for a festival night, from the garden

The deities

Who is installed here.

Shri Krishna and Maa Saraswati are named in clause 3(a) of the 1968 Deed. The others were added over the decades since.

Shri Ram Darbar at Hansi Gita Bhawan — Ram, Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman ji together — Shri Ram Darbar

Shri Ganesha in white marble at Hansi Gita Bhawan, four-armed and seated on a lotus — Shri Ganesha, in white marble

Maa Durga at Hansi Gita Bhawan dressed for darshan in a crimson and white lehenga, many-armed and garlanded, her lion beside her — Maa Durga, dressed for darshan

Panchmukhi Hanuman at Hansi Gita Bhawan, the five faces garlanded and the figure dressed in red — Panchmukhi Hanuman

A garlanded murti standing between painted pillars in the temple at Hansi Gita Bhawan, dressed for darshan with thalis of prasad at its feet — Dressed for darshan

A garlanded murti standing in the temple at Hansi Gita Bhawan under coloured light, thalis of prasad on the step in front — In the evening light

A garlanded murti standing before a brocade drape at Hansi Gita Bhawan, dressed in pink and gold — Shringar before the drape

A garlanded murti seated in a painted shrine niche at Hansi Gita Bhawan, a smaller figure beside it and thalis of prasad on the step below — A shrine in the temple

Maa Saraswati in the sanctum at Hansi Gita Bhawan, dressed for a festival — Maa Saraswati, dressed for a festival

The Shiv lingam and Shri Ganesh in the temple at Hansi Gita Bhawan — The Shiv lingam and Shri Ganesh

Maa Durga in the temple at Hansi Gita Bhawan, seated on her lion, garlanded and dressed in red — Maa Durga, added to the temple in later decades

Panchmukhi Hanuman ji at Hansi Gita Bhawan, the five faces garlanded and vermilion-marked — Panchmukhi Hanuman ji

Bhagwan Shiv with the Shiv Parivar in the temple at Hansi Gita Bhawan — Bhagwan Shiv with the Shiv Parivar

A standing Devi in the sanctum at Hansi Gita Bhawan, garlanded and dressed in red and gold — Devi in the sanctum

Maa Saraswati installed in the temple at Hansi Gita Bhawan, seated with the veena, dressed and garlanded — Maa Saraswati, installed as the 1968 Deed provides

The grounds

Gardens, gates and the open campus.

The gardens and the open-air gym are not named in the Deed. They exist because the campus is open to Hansi and gets used.

A wide view across the grounds at Hansi Gita Bhawan, the temple beyond the open lawn — The grounds at Hansi Gita Bhawan

The grounds of Hansi Gita Bhawan seen from above, the temple, hall and gardens within the boundary wall — The Trust estate, held since about 1952

The gravel path through the gardens at Hansi Gita Bhawan leading to the gate — The gardens, open to everyone

A shaded path through the grounds at Hansi Gita Bhawan, trees on both sides — The grounds

Lawns and planting in the gardens at Hansi Gita Bhawan — The gardens

The outdoor gym on the grounds at Hansi Gita Bhawan, used by the town — The outdoor gym, free for anyone in town

The lawn at Hansi Gita Bhawan on an overcast morning, hedges in front, trees and two red benches beyond — The lawn, kept open for the town

A gravel walk between clipped hedges and chain posts at Hansi Gita Bhawan, leading to the white gate — The walk to the gate

The lawn at Hansi Gita Bhawan with the open-air gym at its edge and the temple shikharas rising behind the trees — The lawn, the open-air gym, and the shikharas beyond

A garlanded marble bust of the founder under a white canopy in the garden at Hansi Gita Bhawan, the inscription on its plinth naming him — The founder, Seth Kanhaiyalal Garg, in the garden

What happens here

Satsang, havan, utsav, prasad.

None of it is charged for, and none of it needs an invitation.

Devotees seated together on the floor of the hall at Hansi Gita Bhawan during satsang — Satsang at the Bhawan — open to everyone, without charge

The hall at Hansi Gita Bhawan decorated with marigolds and streamers for a festival gathering — The hall, dressed for a festival

A man bowing with folded hands before a garlanded murti at Hansi Gita Bhawan, a thali of lamps and offerings on the step in front of him — Aarti offered, an ordinary morning

Offerings laid out on the marble platform at Hansi Gita Bhawan — small murtis dressed and garlanded on patterned mats, with steel thalis of prasad and loose marigolds around them — Offerings on the platform

Prasad prepared in the kitchen at Hansi Gita Bhawan and set out in trays for distribution — Prasad, prepared and distributed without charge

The artwork

Painted for the Trust, not bought in.

Nine wide illustrations of the dialogue at Kurukshetra. They carry no lettering in any language, which is what lets them open pages in both, and they are the Trust’s own work.

Shri Krishna standing at the head of the chariot with the reins in his hand while Arjuna sits behind him with his head resting in his palm, four white horses ahead of them and the two armies drawn up across the plain under a low sun — Between the two armies, before a word is spoken

Shri Krishna turned toward Arjuna on the chariot with one hand open in speech, Arjuna’s forehead resting against his hand and his bow across his knees, the armies and elephants fading into dust behind them at sunset — The teaching begins

Arjuna kneeling in the dust with his bow laid down beside him and Shri Krishna standing over him with a hand extended, the sun setting behind the ranked army — Asking, rather than arguing

Arjuna standing where a path forks, Shri Krishna beside him with a raised hand; one road runs past a discarded crown and quiver and a figure sitting with his head down under a shedding tree, the other toward the drawn-up army, a rising sun and a set of scales resting on a lotus — Where the road divides

Shri Krishna gesturing from beside the chariot toward a row of figures in which the same face appears again and again, a soft cloud of heads gathered above them — One, appearing as many

Shri Krishna speaking from beside the chariot while a lit figure looks on and a child, a grown man and an old man with a stick walk the same winding path — The same one, through childhood, youth and age

A figure seated on an open lotus with a flame at its heart in the middle of a still stream, a child, a young man, a traveller with a bundle and an old man walking along the banks, Shri Krishna and Arjuna seated watching in the foreground — Still at the centre, while the banks go past

Arjuna standing with his bow between a bright sun over a walled city on one side and dark rain over a bare tree on the other, a hooded figure sitting in the rain with his head down — The same in gain and in loss

Shri Krishna standing under a banyan with one hand extended toward a river valley at sunset, Arjuna seated at his feet, fallen leaves and a single seedling in the foreground — What falls, and what comes up

Shri Krishna and Arjuna on the chariot looking out over a river valley where people are ploughing, driving cattle, throwing pots and carrying water at sunrise — The world, at its ordinary work

Shri Krishna seated within a great spoked wheel, a mass of storm-cloud faces gathering on one side and an army ranged along the plain on the other, the sun low behind — The wheel that turns whether or not anyone consents

Arjuna drawing his bow from the chariot, the arrow already loosed toward a radiant wheel standing in the sky, Shri Krishna at his shoulder — One mark, and nothing else in view

Shri Krishna pointing from the chariot across a valley that is sunlit on one side and under falling rain on the other — One valley, two weathers

A line of villagers carrying lamps toward Shri Krishna, who stands at a lamp-stand beneath a banyan with Arjuna beside him — What is brought, and who it is brought to

Shri Krishna gesturing from the chariot toward a broken chariot wheel wreathed in fire and dark smoke — What the turning costs

Shri Krishna showing Arjuna two lit roads climbing out of the valley toward a small shrine on a far peak — Two roads, one summit

Shri Krishna standing with one hand raised over people kneeling with folded hands, an armed line drawn up along the right — Come to me for shelter

Shri Krishna and Arjuna seated together inside a great spoked wheel, the chariot and the ranked army behind them at sunset — Both inside the same turning

Shri Krishna with an open hand above a fire that is consuming chains and broken weapons, Arjuna seated watching — What the fire takes

Shri Krishna seated beneath a flowering tree with Arjuna kneeling before him, hands folded, a river valley opening behind them — The end of the asking

A bare black tree against a night sky filling one side of the picture, and Shri Krishna on the chariot scattering light across the other — The bright road and the dark one

Shri Krishna seated beneath a peepal tree with Arjuna bowing before him, drawn in ink on parchment, an eye, a lamp and a water pot set along the lower border — The teaching, as a manuscript drew it

The twenty cards

One idea, one picture, one line.

These carry their titles inside the artwork, in English, which is why they are shown here rather than set behind a heading — a card that says “Dharma” under a heading that says the same word puts two headings on a page, and on a Hindi page the second one is in a language the page is not in. Here they are pictures, and that objection does not arise.

A warrior kneeling with his bow laid on the ground before a distant army and a red sun. The card carries its title in English. — Vishada — the beginning of wisdom

Shri Krishna standing with an open hand before Arjuna, who kneels. The card carries its title in English. — Seeking guidance — the courage to ask

A signpost on a road pointing to comfort, convenience and dharma, a figure standing before it. The card carries its title in English. — Dharma — right action in the right context

An archer drawing his bow toward a distant mark under a wide sun. The card carries its title in English. — Karma Yoga — action without attachment

Shri Krishna seated with an open book, a bare tree beside him. The card carries its title in English. — Jnana Yoga — seeing the truth

Bhakti Yoga — love as the path

Three arched panels — a figure crouched under a moon, a figure running under a sun, a figure seated before a lotus. The card carries its title in English. — The three gunas — understanding our nature

A seated silhouette ringed by widening circles, with lines drawn out to body, mind and atman. The card carries its title in English. — The Self — beyond body, beyond mind

A chariot at speed with four horses, Shri Krishna at the reins and Arjuna beside him. The card carries its title in English. — Control of the mind — a steady chariot

A balance in equilibrium, a sun in one pan and rain falling into the other. The card carries its title in English. — Equanimity — the same in joy and in sorrow

Two open hands releasing a white bird into the light. The card carries its title in English. — Let go — freedom lies in release

A figure seen from behind, facing an oval mirror in which a crowned king looks back. The card carries its title in English. — Overcoming ego — see the bigger self

A figure climbing red steps toward a small shrine with a flag. The card carries its title in English. — Shraddha — faith opens understanding

A man standing among cows, a dog and a child beside a young tree, a low sun behind. The card carries its title in English. — The divine in all beings — one presence, many forms

People seated in a circle under a broad spreading tree. The card carries its title in English. — Lokasangraha — for the welfare of all

Shri Krishna placing something into the hands of a seated man who receives it. The card carries its title in English. — Wisdom in action — knowledge lived daily

A tangled scribble of line unwinding into a single thread that runs to a small gold disc. The card carries its title in English. — From confusion to clarity

A crowned figure with folded hands rising out of an open lotus. The card carries its title in English. — Devotion transforms — the heart becomes a temple

A figure standing on a rock holding a red banner against a rising sun. The card carries its title in English. — Courage to act — rise and do what is right

An adult and a child walking together toward temple spires at sunrise, birds overhead. The card carries its title in English. — A better tomorrow — inspired by the Gita, for generations

Come and see

A photograph is not darshan.

The temple is open morning and evening, every day, to anyone who comes.

Plan your visit Festivals & events