Akshardham Temple Delhi - Biggest Hindu Indian Temple

The Akshardham Mandir is known as the largest Hindu Temple Complex in India located next to National Highway 24 and Noida Mor in Uttar Pradesh which lies within the National Capital Territory of Delhi and is easily accessible by local transport and from the newly inaugurated Akshardham Metro Station that forms the latest Blue line cord of the intercity rail network that links East Delhi with all the Trans-Yamuna areas.

The Akshardham Mandir is also known by the name of Swaminarayan Akshardham Mandir that was conceptualised in 1968 by Yogi Ji Maharaj who was the spiritual head of BAPS Swaminarayan community and had immense desire to create a Temple Complex beside the banks of the Holy Yamuna River in New Delhi. Attempts were made but unfortunately Yogiji Maharaj passed away in 1971 with hardly any progress.

It was opened in 2005. The construction took over 5 years and involved 7 thousand artisans and 3 thousand construction workers from all over India. Their combined efforts gave birth to a building 42 meters high, 94 meters wide, and 106 meters long. The structure of Akshardham consists of 234 pillars, 9 shiny domes, 20 four-sided towers, and over 20 thousand figurines depicting themes from Indian mythology. There are over 148 statues of an elephant alone!

The Akshardham Mandir welcomes people from all walks of Life irrespective of their caste, creed or religious background. Every Visitor is strictly screened before entering due to security reasons and Electronic Gadgets, Mobiles, Cameras, Alcohol, Food items, Pets and Impolite and Rude Language are not allowed within the premises of the Temple Complex.

There is an exquisite garden in the Akshardham temple complex in the shape of lotus and therefore is also, known as the Lotus Garden. When seen from above, it looks like a Lotus made up of large stones where quotes from Shakespeare, Martin Luther, Swami Vivekananda and other eminent figures are engraved.

Akshardham Temple is surrounded by Narayan Sarovar, which is a lake and carries water from 151 lakes in India. There are 108 faces of cows placed along the lakes which represent 108 Hindu deities. It has a 3,000-feet-long orbital path for Parikrama made up of red stones brought from Rajasthan. It also has a two storey building, with 1,152 pillars and 145 windows. This Parikrama is spread around the temple like a beautiful garland.

Akshardham Temple comprises 200 sculptured stone figures of India's sages, monks, Acharyas and divine incarnations. It also consists of 234 ornately carved pillars, 9 ornate domes, Gajendra Pith and 20,000 statues of divine figures of India.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gznGg1kkgAk