Akshardham Temple-New Delhi

Location : Banks of River Yamuna in East Delhi
Managed By : Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha
Famous For : Exquisite Architecture and Ornate Pillars

Remember To See : Audio Animatronics Show (Sahajanand Darshan)

The beautiful mandir built without steel, consists of 234 ornately carved pillars, 9 ornate domes, 20 quadrangled shikhars, a spectacular Gajendra Pith (plinth of stone elephants) and 20,000 murtis and statues of India’s great sadhus, devotees, acharyas and divine personalities.

The mandir is a fusion of pink stone and pure white marble, where pink stone symbolizes bhakti in eternal bloom and white marble that of absolute purity and eternal peace. Akshardham was created by HDH Pramukh Swami Maharaj in fulfillment to the wish of his guru, Brahmaswarup Yogiji Maharaj, the fourth successor in the spiritual hierarchy of Bhagwan Swaminarayan. In only a short timespan of five years Swaminarayan Akshardham became a reality through the blessings of Pramukh Swami Maharaj, 300 million man hours of epic services rendered by 11,000 volunteers, sadhus and artisans and the immense sacrifice, austerities, prayers of hundreds of thousands of young and old devotees of BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha.

Height: 141.3 ft
Width: 316 ft
Length: 356 ft
Inauguration: 6-11-2005, Kartik Shukla Panchmi,               
Organizer: BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha.
Creator: HDH Pramukh Swami Maharaj

Remember to behold the magnificent Mandovar, the ornate exterior wall of the Akshardham Temple. In the last 800 years this is the only and largest, intricately carved Mandovar in India, embellished with sculptured stone effigies of India's great rishis, sadhus, devotees, acharyas and divine incarnations. Walk around the temple premises to reach the tranquil Narayan Sarovar. In the evenings, the lake glitters like a sparkling diamond amidst floating lotus leaves - as if pride nestling amidst purity and detachment. You will be amazed to know that the lake contains holy waters from 151 rivers and lakes sanctified by Bhagwan Swaminarayan, including Mansarovar in Tibet.

 For a better experience of the Akshardham temple, attend the Audio Animatronics Show (Sahajanand Darshan) at the Hall of Values, where the life of Bhagwan Swaminarayan is portrayed through robotics, fibre optics, light and sound effects, dialogues and music; transporting the audience to 18th century India. Come outside only to be greeted by a colourful matrix of bubbling fountains that chill the ambience. Interestingly, it is the Yagnapurush Kund, the world's largest yagna kund, with perfect geometric forms testifying the ancient India's advanced knowledge in mathematics and geometry. At night the center comes to life with a colorful musical water fountain that echoes the Vedic rhymes in everyone's heart.

Some important facts about the temple:

• It is one of the biggest and most intricate religious places of worship ever constructed
• The Akshardham monument, built without steel, is entirely composed of sandstone and marble
• It consists of 234 ornately carved pillars, 9 ornate domes, 20 quadrangled shikhars, a spectacular Gajendra Pith (plinth of stone elephants) and 20,000 murtis and statues of India's great sadhus, devotees, acharyas and divine personalities
• The monument was built after over 300 million man hours of services rendered by 11,000 volunteers, sadhus and artisans
• The ornate external wall (Mandovar) is the only and largest, intricately carved structure with dimensions of 611ft x 31ft that is built in the last 800 years
• The Gajendra Pith stretching for 1,070 ft and weighing 3,000 tons, has 148 full-sized elephants, 42 birds and animals, 125 human sculptures!
• The Akshardham parikrama (circumambulatory path) consists of 1,152 pillars, 145 windows and 154 samvaran shikhars; amounting to a total of 53,956 stones.

Temple of Guinness:

 Akshardham of recent has come into spotlight as being the largest Hindu temple complex in world, as revealed by the Guinness Record Books. December 26th will be marked as the golden day in the history of India and Delhi, when a senior official of Guinness World Record Main Management Committee, Michael Witty presented two world record certificates to the head of Swaminarayan Sansthan, Pramukh Swami Maharaj. The two title were : Most Hindu temples consecrated by a single person and secondly, the world's largest comprehensive Hindu temple. After inspecting various temple all over the world for around seven months, the committee reached to this conclusion – that makes Akshardham the largest Hindu temple in th world. Come to see the temple that is incomparable, both in terms of – Magnitude and Stateliness.

Anyone who want to know more about Temple.Here's Official Website of Akshardham Temple:  http://www.akshardham.com/