Akshardham – Swaminarayan Temple – New Delhi

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The Location of the temple is situated at Delhi, Near Noida Mode, NH24. The Area coverd by that Temple is 100 acres. And the Akshardham Temple complex was opened to the public on November 8, 2005. Timings of Akshardham Temple is Tuesday – Sunday 9 AM-7 PM (The entire complex is closed on Mondays). This Temple Founded By the Bochasanwasi Akshar-Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha. The Temple inaugurated By the Pramukhswami Maharaj and it is Dedicated To Lord Swaminarayan.

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The Akshardham Temple is one of the most recently built temples in Delhi. Constructed by the Bochasanvasi Aksharpurushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), it is situated on the banks of the River Yamuna. Delhi Akshar Dham Mandir was inaugurated in Novenmber’05 in the presence of President APJ Abdul Kalam. It is spread over an area of 100 acres and took about two years to complete. Akshardhaam Temple of New Delhi is built in an architectural style similar to that of the Akshardham temple of Gandhinagar in Gujarat, India. Its construction is based on the ancient Sthaapatya shastras of India and it is built without steel, entirely out of sandstone and marble.

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Approximately 234 ornate pillars, floral motif s, arches, exquisitely carved pavilions, 9 ornate domes, 20 quadrangle shikhars, a spectacular Gajendra Pith (plinth of stone elephants), adorn this architectural wonder. There are 20,000 statues inside Akshar Dham Mandir of Delhi of India’s great sadhus, devotees, acharyas and divine personas. Other features of the Akshardham Temple are an IMAX theatre, a Swaminarayan temple, and an elaborate musical fountain. The area around the temple building has been converted into manicured lawns with beautiful water fountains.

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The main shrine of the New Delhi Akshardhaam temple houses the statue of Lord Swaminarayan. There is an Akshardham Temple Monument to World Peace inside the temple complex. Along with that, there is also a restaurant modeled on the Ajanta and Ellora caves and an Ayurvedic bazaar. Combining Rajasthani, Orrisan, Gujarati, Mughal and Jain temple architecture, the mandir presents a magnificent sight. This temple is a major tourist attraction and counts amongst the wonders of modern India. The main building inside the complex rises to a height of 141-ft and enshrines a magnificent statue of Lord Swaminarayan. One can see a marvelous amalgamation of pink stone and pure white marble in the construction of the Akshardham Temple of Delhi. The pink stone symbolizes endless Bhakti (devotion), while the white marble stands for absolute purity & eternal peace.

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There are three halls inside the premises of the Akshardham Temple, where exhibitions are organized on a regular basis.

Hall 1 (Sahajanad Pradarshan)
Sahajanad Pradarshan exhibition is organized in hall number one and showcases life like robotics and panoramas. Scenes from Swaminarayan’s life, conveying his message of peace and harmony, also form a part of the exhibition.

Hall 2 (Nilkanth Kalyan Yatra)
Hall number 2 has Delhi’s first format screen and showcases Nilkanth Kalyan Yatra, the journey of Lord Swaminarayan during his teenage years.

Hall 3 (Sanskruti Vihar)
The Sanskruti Vihar exhibition of hall number three provides you a peek into the 10,000 years of Indian history in just 10 minutes.

One of the major attractions of the Akshardham Temple of New Delhi is the light show at Yagnapurush Kund, India’s largest step well. The visitors can enjoy the musical fountain and light show at night only. The temple complex also has a garden called Bharat Upavan (Garden of India), with brilliantly laid-out lawns. It also houses bronze sculptures of some great Indian personalities. Yogi Harday Kamal, a lotus-shaped sunken garden inside the complex, is engraved with quotes from famous personalities, like Shakespeare and Martin Luther King.

The Baha’í House of Worship in Delhi, India, popularly known as the Lotus Temple due to its flowerlike shape, is a Bahá’í House of Worship and also a prominent attraction in Delhi. It was completed in 1986 and serves as the Mother Temple of the Indian subcontinent. It has won numerous architectural awards and been featured in hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles.

As with all other Bahá’í Houses of Worship, the Lotus Temple is open to all regardless of religion, or any other distinction, as emphasized in Bahá’í texts. The Bahá’í laws emphasize that the spirit of the House of Worship be that it is a gathering place where people of all religions may worship God without denominational restrictions.The Bahá’í laws also stipulate that only the holy scriptures of the Bahá’í Faith and other religions can be read or chanted inside in any language; while readings and prayers can be set to music by choirs, no musical instruments can be played inside. Furthermore no sermons can be delivered, and there can be no ritualistic ceremonies practiced.

Since its inauguration to public worship in December 1986, the Bahá’í House of Worship in Delhi has, as of late 2002, attracted more than 50 million visitors, making it one of the most visited buildings in the world. Its numbers of visitors during those years surpassed those of the Eiffel Tower and the Taj Mahal. On Hindu holy days, it has drawn as many as 150,000 people; it welcomes four million visitors each year (about 13,000 every day or 9 every minute).

This House of Worship is generally referred to as the “Lotus Temple”. In India, during the Hindu festival Durga Puja, several times a replica of the Lotus Temple has been made as a pandal, a temporary structure set up to venerate the goddess Durga.^[10] In Sikkim a permanent replica is of the Hindu Legship Mandir, dedicated to Shiva.

Manikaran (Hindi: मणिकर्ण) is located in the Parvati Valley between the rivers Beas and Parvati, northeast of Bhuntar in the Kullu District of Himachal Pradesh. It is at an altitude of 1760 m and is located about 45 km from Kullu.

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Manikaran is a pilgrimage centre for Hindus and Sikhs.  Both Hindi and Sikhs have their own belifes.  Manikaran is famous for  many temples and a gurudwara. There are temples of Lord Rama, Krishna, and Vishnu. The area is well-known for its hot springs and its beautiful landscape.

According to legend, when Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati were walking in the valley, Parvati dropped one of her earrings. The jewel was seized by Shesha, the serpent deity, who then disappeared into the earth with it. Shesha only surrendered the jewel when Shiva performed the cosmic dance, the Tandava and shot the jewel up through the water. Apparently, jewels continued to be thrown up in the waters at Manikaran until the earthquake of 1905.

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Sikh belief

According to sikhs, during third Udasi, Guru Nanak Dev ji came to this place in 15 Asu 1574 Bikrami with his disciples Bhai Bala & Bhai Mardana.Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji was with his Sikhs in the Himalaya mountains of India. His sikhs were hungry and there was no food. Guru Nanak sent his good Friend Bhai Mardana to collect food for langar (the Community Kitchen). Many people donated rice and flour(atta) to make parsadas (bread). The one problem was that there was no fire to cook the food. Guru Nanak than lifted a rock and a hot spring(hot water) appeared. The sikhs were able to make rice and beans. Bhai Mardana was having trouble making Chapatis because they kept sinking. Bhai Mardana said I am going to donate my life in the name of God. The parsada amazingly floated. Guru Nanak Dev Ji said that anyone who donates his life in the name of God, All his(or her) drowned items float. This was a miracle.

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Hindu belief

The legend of Manikaran states that while roaming around, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, once chanced upon a place that was surrounded by mountains and was lush green. Enamoured by the beauty of the place, they decided to spend some time there. It is believed that they actually spent eleven hundred years here.

During their stay here, Goddess Parvati lost her mani in the waters of a stream. Upset over the loss, she asked Shiva to retrieve it. Lord Shiva commanded his attendant to find out the mani for Parvati, however, when they failed, he was extremely angry. He opened his third eye, a tremendously inauspicious event which led to disturbances in the universe. An appeal was made before the serpent god, Sheshnag, to pacify Lord Shiva. Sheshnag hissed thereby giving rise to a flow of boiling water. The water spread over the entire area resulting in the emergence of precious stones of the type Goddess Parvati had lost. Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati were happy at the outcome.

Sikh pilgrimage

Manikaran is an extremely sacred place for the Sikh population of the country since it is believed that Guru Nanak Dev paid a visit here. The record of this can be found in the Janam Sakhi or the Twarikh Guru Khalsa (by Giani Gian). There is a mention that along with his disciple Bhai Mardana, Guru Nanak came down to this place after visiting Kalanaur, Gurdaspur, Dasuya, Triloknath, Palampur, Kangra, Mandi, Chamba and Kulu and Bijli Mahadev. He was also accompanied by five of his followers or ‘piaras’.

Lord Ramchandra Temple at ManiKaran

This is perhaps the most important temple of Manikaran. The temple was constructed by Raja Jagat Singh in the 17th century. Though there is no historical evidence backing, still the idol of Shri Ram installed here is believed to have been brought straight from Ayodhya. An idol of Rama’s younger brother, Laksmana was also supposed to be there, however, it has now nowhere to be seen. An idol of Goddess Sita accompanies that of Lord Rama. The temple was renovated by Raja Dilip Singh in the year 1889. Though the history of the temple is inscribed in a stone of walls, yet nothing is visible. Today, the temple is been looked after by a trust. There are three halls and forty rooms in the temple complex, specially meant for the visiting devotees. A lungar is organised to distribute food to the devotees.

Temple of Lord Shiva at Manikaran

This temple is hugely revered as it belongs to Lord Shiva. However, an earthquake in the 1905 caused a bit of damage to the temple and it got slightly tilted. The importance of Manikaran is also judged from the fact that devtas of Kullu valley pay regular visit to this place on specified date.