A Temple Where Scripture,
Art, and Architecture Unite

The Leela Chitra Mandir at Gita Press, Gorakhpur, is unlike anything else in India. It is simultaneously a temple, a museum, a gallery of sacred art, and a living scripture, all contained within a magnificent hall approximately 20 feet high and 7,100 square feet in area.

The vision emerged gradually: as Kalyan magazine commissioned hand-crafted sacred illustrations over decades, a magnificent collection accumulated. These were brought together in a purpose-built hall at Gita Press. Alongside the illustrations, the entire Bhagavad Gita was engraved in marble on the walls, and approximately 700 dohas and couplets by India's greatest saints were inscribed in beautiful calligraphy on inner and outer walls.

When the project was complete, it was India's founding President who came to honour it. On 29 April 1955 (Vaishakh Shukla 8, Vikram Samvat 2012), exactly 32 years after Gita Press was founded on the same Vaishakh Shukla date, the Bharat Ratna Dr. Rajendra Prasad personally visited Gita Press and inaugurated this extraordinary institution.

This is the only Leela Chitra Mandir of its kind in all of India. People come from across the country, and increasingly from abroad, to experience it. Admission is free. It is a gift from Gobind Bhawan Karyalaya to the nation.