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Bhaktivedanta Manor is a Gaudiya Vaishnava temple set in the Hertfordshire countryside of England in the village of Aldenham near Watford. The Manor, as it is called by those familiar with it, is owned and run by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, better known as ISKCON or the Hare Krishna movement. It is ISKCON's largest property in the UK, and one of the most frequently visited Radha Krishna temples in Europe. It stands in 70 acres (280,000 m2) of landscaped grounds consisting of lawns, flower gardens, a children's playground, an artificial lake that attracts many water fowl, and a substantial car park.
It was converted from a country mansion called Piggott's Manor, which name may still show on older maps.
The late Beatles musician George Harrison gave the Manor as an offering of devotion to the founder of ISKCON, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Harrison had a close relationship with Prabhupada and met and stayed with him on several occasions. "Bhaktivedānta" is Sanskrit for "devotion-Vedanta", i.e. "the Vedanta which is about devotion".
Harrison said he envisaged the Manor would be "guide to Krishna consciousness"[1] and "A place where people could get a taste of the splendor of devotional service to the Supreme Lord."[2]
A nearby road, which was earlier an unnamed track across a park, is now named Dharam Marg, which is Hindi for "the way of truth".
All activity at Bhaktivedanta Manor focuses around the temple room with its altar of carved wood and gilt containing three domed shrines. The first houses deity forms of Radha and Krishna, named Radha Gokulananda. The second houses Gaura-Nitai deities, and the third, Sita, Rama, his brother Lakshman and Hanuman.
The rest of the property comprises a shop selling souvenirs and devotional paraphernalia, a bakery, a farm with working oxen, college facilities, ashrams, a primary school, and a small theatre used for performances of the dramatic arts illustrating bhakti yoga and stories about Krishna. It is frequently used as a venue for Vaishnava religious festivals, Hindu family gatherings, general open days and civil weddings.