Vellore Golden Temple

Golden temple: The term 'Golden Temple' in India referred to only the Sikh Golden Temple at Amritsar in Punjab. However, in the past 4-5 years, another temple in South India has also been referred to as the golden temple.

The golden temple of Sri Narayani at Sripuram near Vellore town, located at a distance of around 150 km from Chennai, has become a very popular Hindu temple in recent years. It is a private temple built by a trust run by a person who claims himself as 'Narayani' or 'Shakti Amma'. Thousands of devotees consider him their God or Guru.

The presiding deity of the temple is Maha Lakshmi. The sanctum has the beautiful golden image of Lakshi or Narayani in the sitting posture. The icon is stunning, always decorated, and looks bright and attractive. The entire sanctum, the pillars surrounding the shrine, the roof, and the tower are all made of gold plates. It is estimated to be 1500 kgs of gold. 

The entire temple structure is spread across 20 acres. The inner circum ambulatory path (prakara) is in the shape of a circle, and the outer prakara is in the form of a star. 

Many sculptures of various deities are found on the lawn. 

The temple is maintained neatly and there are facilities for water and toilets across the 1-1.5 km distance of the outer pathway. For the old and the physically challenged, there is a wheelchair facility. 

All facilities are there in this temple, but for a price. You can get dharma darshan (free of cost), for which, whether there is a crowd or not, you may have to wait in a gated hall for hours. If you don't want to wait, you need to pay 100 INR per person, allowing you to enter the outer pathway directly.

If you are a traveler interested in all sorts of places, you can visit this place once. If you are a true devotee and want to see this temple only for a spiritual purpose, you should avoid this temple.

Happy travelling.

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