One of the world-famous temples, which is famous for its incredible architecture, is the Akshardham temple. The word Akshardham means the abode of the Lord, which represents the serenity and divinity of the place where people offer their prayers to the gods and seek their blessings. The full name of the temple is, Swaminarayan Akshardham temple, as this is just not a temple, it is also a cultural and spiritual campus where different kinds of activities and exhibitions are organized related to Hinduism.
However, the temple is dedicated to the Bhagwan Swaminarayan and also dedicated to the great devas and saints. In the temple, there are many statues of Hindu Gods and Goddesses including Lord Krishna and Radha, Lord Rama and Sita, Lord Narayana, Devi Lakshmi, and Lord Shiva and Parvati. There are many mythological stories described in that.
The temple is located on the banks of the holy river Yamuna, in Delhi. However, the Akshardham Temple Delhi was officially opened to the public on 6th November 2005 and it was inaugurated by the president of India late Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. The idea of a temple was suggested by Yogiji Maharaj 1968, who was the spiritual head of BAPS. Later in 1982, his successor Pramukh Swami Maharaj started the work of the construction of the Akshardham temple.
And finally, in the year 2000, 60 and 30 acres of land were offered to this temple by Delhi Development Authority and the Uttar Pradesh government for the project. And in 2000, the construction was started and it took around 5 years to complete the entire complex. And then, it was opened to the public in 2005. Akshardham temple, Delhi has also been awarded a Guinness world record for being the largest comprehensive Hindu Temple in the world.
Let’s talk about the architecture of the temple which is incredibly famous across the world. The temple is built with pink sandstone and marble, and this vast shrine of Swaminarayan Akshardham Delhi consists of the main temple, exhibitions, beautifully laid out gardens, open courtyards, and water bodies, each of these sections presenting an intriguing aspect of the Hindu religion and spirituality.
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The temple is constructed in the traditional Hindu architectural style and has been built as per ancient Indian architecture. However, it follows the traditional Vaastu shastra as well as Pancharatra shastra. The entire temple represents the carvings of flowers, animals, musicians, Hindu deities, and dancers, even though the material used in constructing the temple is red sandstone which was dragged by the Rajasthan and the Italian Carrara marble, over 6000 tons of pink sandstone was brought from the Rajasthan for constructing this temple.
The incredible temple stands at a height of 141.3 feet and is spread with a width of 316 feet. It has 234 pillars that have been carved amazingly. Even more, the temple also has 9 elaborately domes. The interesting fact is, the temple cared for more than 20,000 idols related to Hinduism at the temple. The main statue of Swaminarayan is almost 11 feet long and is placed under the central dome. However, there are other deities’ statutes also and each statue at the Akshardham temple has been built with 5 metals which we know as the Panchdhaatu.
If someone is don’t know, then let me clear that we have 10 directions instead of four, (4 are the main directions that we know, North, South, East, and West) but there are other 6 directions. So, it is said that the gates of Akshardham are built in each direction, which means in every 10 directions. There are 10 gates that represent the 10 directions.
The top attractions in Akshardham temple
• The central dome which has the main temple
• Musical fountain show or water show
• The boat rides
• Abhishek Mandap
• Exhibitions are- The Neelkanth Darshan, The Sahahjanand Darshan, and Sanskruti Darshan
• Lotus Garden which includes stones carved with thoughts and quotes given by leaders, philosophers, and scientists
• The Premvati Ahargruh, which is a huge Vegetarian food court
• Gardens and lawns
• Narayan Sarovar which has water from 151 holy rivers and lakes spread across India
• There is also a book and gift center shop in the temple
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