Kartika Masa Annadanam
in 108 Villages
From Diwali, prasadam is cooked at the temple and carried out to the villages around Sadashivpet — served one village at a time, until all 108 have been fed.
One village fed in your family’s name for ₹12,500
Beginning on Diwali, 8 November, and continuing village by village until Kartik Purnima on 24 November.
Choose your offering
A full plate of prasadam is ₹25, and ₹12,500 feeds a whole village for a day.
Whoever comes, eats
From Diwali, every morning, rice, dal and vegetables are cooked at the temple, offered to Sri Sri Radha Krishna, and carried out to a village around Sadashivpet, in Sangareddy district — about sixty kilometres west of Hyderabad. It is served to whoever comes: farm labourers, elders, children home from school, anyone who is hungry.
Nobody is asked their name, their caste or their need. A leaf is laid down in front of them, and they eat until they are full. That is the whole of it.
The gift the scriptures praise above others
“A man, by making a gift of food, really makes a gift of life itself. There is no gift in this world that is superior to the gift of life.” — Mahabharata, Anushasana Parva.
The Skanda Purana puts both halves of this seva in one breath: “There is no month on a par with Kartika… there is no charitable gift on a par with that of cooked rice.” And at the first Govardhana-puja, which falls in Kartik, Krishna Himself told the cowherds to feed everyone present — “including such fallen souls as dogs and dog-eaters”. Nobody is left outside it.
Kartik, the month of Damodara
Kartik is the month in which mother Yashoda bound Sri Krishna at the waist with a rope of love — Damodara. The tradition holds it the dearest month of the year for lamps, and for giving.
The lamps of Diwali fall on 8 November, the night of Kartik Amavasya. That is the day the cooking begins, and it carries on morning after morning to Kartik Purnima on 24 November.
From your offering to a village meal
You offer
Choose a whole village, or a number of plates. Your 80G receipt is emailed to you as soon as the payment is confirmed.
We cook and offer
The meal is cooked at the temple kitchen and offered to Sri Sri Radha Krishna before it leaves, with your name and gotra in the sankalpa.
The village eats
Devotees carry it out the same morning and serve it to everyone who comes, until the vessels are empty.
Before you give
Is my donation eligible for 80G?
Yes. ISKCON is registered under section 80G and your receipt is emailed to you as soon as the payment succeeds. For Form 10BE you must give your full legal name, address with PIN and PAN — please enter them correctly on the donation form.
What exactly does ₹12,500 cover?
A full meal for one village — the rice, dal, vegetables, cooking fuel and the transport to carry it out and serve it. Village sizes differ, so we do not promise a fixed number of plates; we promise that in that village, on that day, the food does not run out before the people do.
Can I choose which village?
Not individually — the route is planned in advance so that no village is served twice while another is missed. You will be told which village your offering served.
Can I give in someone’s name, or for a departed family member?
Yes, and many do. Enter the name on the donation form and it will be read in the offering. Annadaan performed in the name of departed parents and ancestors is among the most traditional of all offerings.
What if I can only give a small amount?
Then give a small amount. A plate of prasadam is ₹25 at this temple, and a hundred plates is ₹2,500. The smallest amount the payment gateway will take is ₹100 — four plates. Every plate is a full meal for one person.
How do I sponsor several villages, or give offline?
Please call the temple office on +91 81798 35349 and we will arrange it. Payments above ₹10,00,000 cannot be taken online.
May Sri Sri Radha Krishna accept this service, and may all who eat be nourished in body and in heart.