Akshardham - Delhi

Site Name: Akshardham Temple
Site Type: Temple
Location:  East Delhi, Delhi, India
Highlights: A huge temple complex; one of the largest temples of India; an architectural marvel
Nearest Railway Station: New Delhi
Nearest Airport: New Delhi
How to reach: Well connected by road, rail and air
Hotel: A lot of options in Delhi
Restaurants: Varieties of options in Delhi

New Delhi is the capital city of India. There are varieties of tourist sites in this city which include forts, monuments, memorials, mosques, heritage sites and temples. Let us explore Akshardham temple in this article.

Akshardham temple is one of the latest attractions of Delhi city. More than 7000 workers' hardwork for about five yeas resulted in the inauguration of this huge temple complex in November 2005. The temple is also called Swami Narayan Mandir. Swami Narayan was a Hindu saint who lived in the beginning of the 19th century CE. He was from Uttar Pradesh state and settled down in Gujarat. He is the central figure in Swami Narayan sect of Hinduism. The Akshardham temple in Gandhi Nagar is older than this. 

The complex has multiple sections and buildings. The central building is the main temple dedicated to Swami Narayan. It is a blend of different architectural styles from different parts of India. The structure is built entirely from Rajasthani pink sandstone and Italian Carrara marble without using steel or concrete. The structure has around 234 carved pillars and around 20,000 sculptures on the pillar and walls. 

The main deity Swaminarayan is a 11 feet high idol. He is surrounded by similar statues of the Gurus of the sect. The idols of Ram-Sita, Lakshmi-Narayan, Shiv-Parvati and Radha-Krishna are also found in the main shrine. 

The prakara around the main shrine has many elephant statues in different postures.

There is a section called Sahajanand Pradarshan, which features lifelike robotics displaying incidents from Swaminarayan's life.

The Neelakanth Darshan is an iMax screen which displays the film on the life of Swaminarayan.

The Sanskriti Vihar features a boat ride which takes the devotees to different periods of India starting from Vedic period to modern day.

There is also a small Swami Narayan temple within this complex.

Happy travelling.



Comments

  1. Sounds nice. I have never been to this place before but after going through the post it seems that will have to visit for once at least. Thank u s much for the share.

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  2. I always enjoy a trip to Delhi. It is amongst one of my favorite cities in India. I have been to Akshardham Temple with my family. It was an amazing experience for all of us. When in Delhi, this temple is worth visiting.

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