NB Explains | World's largest modern era Hindu temple constructed outside India & Janbhagidari in US

Washington, Sep 26: On Oct 8, world's largest modern era Hindu temple constructed outside India will be inaugurated in New Jersey. The BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham temple is reportedly located about 60 miles (90 km) south of Times Square, New York and about 180 miles (289 km) north of Washington DC.

 

 

 

 

The BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham that is situated in the little Robbinsville Township of New Jersey, has been reportedly built by an army of more than 12,500 volunteers from across the US in over 12 years from 2011 to 2023. Every day the temple is being visited by thousands of Hindus as well as people of other faiths from across the country due to its grand and magnificent construction. The BAPS Akshardham temple spans over 183 acres.

 

The grand temple has been designed according to ancient Hindu scriptures and thus includes design elements from ancient Indian culture such as 10,000 statues and statuettes, along with carvings of Indian musical instruments and dance forms. The temple is possibly the second largest after Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the 12th-century Angkor Wat Temple Complex, that is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

 

 

 

The Akshardham temple in New Delhi which was opened for the public in November 2005 and is spread over 100 acres. According to the reports of PTI, Aksharvatsaldas Swami from BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha said in an interview, "Our spiritual leader (Pramukh Swami Maharaj) had a vision that in the Western hemisphere there should be a place which can be a place for all people of the world, not only for Hindus, not only for Indians, not only for certain groups of people; it should be for all of the world where people can come and learn some values, universal values based in Hindu tradition."

 

He further said, "It was his wish, and it was his Sankalp (pledge). According to his Sankalp, this Akshardham has been built with traditional Hindu temple architecture." The unique Hindu temple design includes one main shrine, 12 sub-shrines, nine shikhars (spire-like structures), and nine pyramidal shikhars. Akshardham houses the largest elliptical dome of traditional stone architecture ever constructed. It is designed to last a thousand years. The four types of stone selected include limestone, pink sandstone, marble, and granite, which can withstand extreme heat and cold.

 

 

 

 

 

According to reports, nearly two million cubic feet of stone was used in the construction and was sourced from different sites around the world, including limestone from Bulgaria and Turkey; Marble from Greece, Turkey and Italy; Granite from India and China; Sandstone from India and other decorative stones from Europe, Asia, Latin America. The Brahma Kund, a traditional Indian stepwell, contains water from over 300 bodies of water from around the world, including the holy rivers of India and all 50 states of the US. Sustainable practices of BAPS include a solar panel farm, a fly ash concrete mix, and the planting of over two million trees worldwide in the past few decades.

 

 

 

Volunteers from across the US helped with the assembly of Akshardham. They were guided by artisan volunteers from India. Millions of volunteer hours have been dedicated to the making of Akshardham. Said to be a landmark of Hindu culture and architecture in the Western hemisphere, Akshardham would be formally inaugurated on October 8 under the guidance of BAPS spiritual head Mahant Swami Maharaj. It will be open for visitors from October 18. "It (voluntarism) is our tradition. There are so many references in our traditional Hindu Parampara (tradition), or scriptures or our lineage where you can Seva in building a temple is very meritorious," Aksharvatsaldas Swami said.

 

He further said, "But particularly in this temple, it has been a unique thing because of the scale of the Maha mandir. So the number of volunteers would naturally grow." BAPS officials said volunteers have devoted millions of hours of selfless service to the temple. Ranging from 18 years old to over 60, from students to CEOs of companies, doctors, engineers and architects, many have taken leave from work for months and have rented condos near the construction site to volunteer their services in building the temple, a establishing a personal bond with the temple.

 

 

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