Darshan in Vrindavan

Banke Bihari darshan

Darshan means 'seeing': the moment you and the deity look at each other, which is the whole point of visiting a Hindu temple. Banke Bihari does it unusually: instead of leaving the sanctum open, attendants draw a curtain across it every minute or two and open it again, so the god is seen in flashes. The explanation given is that the deity here is treated as a small child who must not be stared at or tired out. This is also why there is no early morning service to wake him.

The temple closes in the middle of the day and the whole schedule shifts by an hour between seasons. Summer (roughly March-October): 07:45–12:00 and 17:30–21:30. Winter (roughly November-February): 08:45–13:00 and 16:30–20:30. Timings change on festivals.