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Swaminarayan Akshardham

On the bank of the Yamuna, near the Noida border, Delhi

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Swaminarayan Akshardham
Photo: Swaminarayan Sanstha, CC BY-SA 3.0

About

Swaminarayan Akshardham in Delhi is a large Hindu temple and cultural campus on the bank of the Yamuna. It was built by the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha under the guidance of Pramukh Swami Maharaj and opened on 6 November 2005. 'Akshardham' means the divine home of God. Under the central dome sits an 11-foot murti of Bhagwan Swaminarayan in the abhaya mudra, surrounded by his line of gurus. The mandir also has murtis of Sita-Ram, Radha-Krishna, Shiv-Parvati and Lakshmi-Narayan. Carved from pink sandstone and white marble, it has 234 carved pillars, nine domes and about 20,000 figures. Exhibitions, a boat ride and a water show tell the story of India's culture and values.

The story

Bhagwan Swaminarayan was born on 3 April 1781, the day of Ram Navami, in the village of Chhapaiya near Ayodhya. As a child he was called Ghanshyam. After his parents passed away, he left home at the age of eleven and, as a young yogi named Nilkanth Varni, walked for seven years across India and parts of Nepal. He visited tirths such as Jagannath Puri, Badrinath, Rameswaram, Dwarka and Pandharpur. In 1799 his journey ended at the village of Loj in Gujarat, where he met the disciples of Ramanand Swami. In 1800 Ramanand Swami initiated him and gave him the name Sahajanand Swami. He taught ahimsa, a pure life and devotion, and his followers believe him to be a manifestation of God. BAPS, an organisation in his tradition, resolved to build a mandir in Delhi that would honour him and show India's spiritual heritage. Inspired by Yogiji Maharaj and guided by Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the mandir was built of stone following the shilpa shastras, without steel. In 2007 Guinness World Records named it the world's largest comprehensive Hindu temple at that time.

Visiting

October to March is the best time to visit Delhi. Keep several hours to see the whole campus at an easy pace. Shoes are not allowed in the mandir and are left at the shoe-house in front of it. Wear simple, modest clothes.

Festivals

  • Swaminarayan Jayanti and Ram Navami (Chaitra Shukla Navami)
  • Diwali and Annakut (Govardhan Puja, Kartik Shukla Pratipada)

Famous temples

Sources