Place · modern Swaminarayan temple complex · India
Swaminarayan, New Delhi
Also known as Akshardham, Akshardham — Delhi, Delhi, New Delhi, Swaminarayan, Swaminarayan (Akshardham)
The BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham Temple complex on the Yamuna in Delhi — opened on 6 November 2005, built by the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) over five years at a cost of about $100 million. The complex is one of the largest Hindu temple complexes in the world by land area (approximately 100 acres), with the Akshardham main temple built in traditional Nagara stone style using 234 hand-carved pink Rajasthan Bansi Paharpur sandstone pillars and 20,000 carved deities. The complex contains three major exhibitions (Hall of Values, Giant Screen Theatre and Cultural Boat Ride) that present Hindu history and philosophy. The main temple's central idol is of Swaminarayan (1781-1830), the 19-century founder of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. The complex draws about 70,000 daily visitors. The 2005 Guinness World Record for the world's largest Hindu temple complex.
- Function
- Sacred site & pilgrimage
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
- Location
- 28.613, 77.277
Connections (1)
- Site withinDelhi
Swaminarayan, New Delhi sits inside Delhi and forms one piece of its layered sacred, royal or civic landscape. The city carries this entry as one of the sites that make its urban fabric legible — a shrine, monument, institution or craft tradition specifically anchored at this location — and the city's broader history reads better when the stop is seen in its context rather than in isolation. The surrounding streets, markets and other heritage ensembles around it belong to the same single city.
Sources
Wikipedia, “Swaminarayan”. Archaeological Survey of India and State Archaeology monument records, and the standard regional literature.
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