It was done to provide seismic resistance in case of earthquakes, which sometimes happen in India. All pillars of the temple are stacked, and all stone elements are turned 90 degrees after being connected. It was processed using special technology, and then joint together. Marble and granite for the construction was delivered from all over the world. The concrete was used only in the foundation. Our guide told us that the temple has no iron elements in its structure, and no cement. The only time I experienced something similar was during my visit to the Meteora monasteries in Greece. You feel harmony, tranquility, and strength of your spirit. It's hard to describe the range of feelings you experience while walking the grounds of Swaminarayan Akshardham. But this was an exception! To say that I was surprised is to say nothing! I was smitten by the grandeur of the idea and its magnificent implementation in stone. It is very unlikely that something would be able to surprise you.
![latest and best baps bhajan for pramukh wami maharaj latest and best baps bhajan for pramukh wami maharaj](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5og79QR6mYA/Wdxo5p_GmCI/AAAAAAAAA30/-MCsFG-cBwkxgC3HyA1BWsI7pVxQzGBggCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Pramukh-Swami-Maharaj.jpg)
Usually, at the end of every trip, when almost every day you see wonders of nature and artisan masterpieces, your emotions get "washed out". But that was before I entered its premises. For me it was just another Indian temple. To tell you the truth, I didn't know of Swaminarayan Akshardham existence. Meanwhile he assigned a guide to give us a half-hour tour around museums and the temple grounds. But he did ask us to give him time to see if it was possible to get permit for aerial photography. At the moment he didn't give us a definite answer. It's hard to remember what exactly we were talking about, but we got him interested in our project. The next thing we know, we are talking to the middle-age man from the local administration. Even if we failed with a permit, at least we would see a new wonder of the world. At the time we were not sure what to expect, but we decided to take our chances anyway. When we entered the temple first time we had only one document in our hands: photography permit for Delhi and Taj Mahal. However, our success in Taj Mahal encouraged us to request a photo permit for Swaminarayan Akshardham. We knew that we couldn't even bring a cell phone inside the temple, not to mention other heavy photo equipment. We didn't plan to photograph Swaminarayan Akshardham. Let's take a moment and listen to Stas Sedov's story about the photo shoot.ĭuring last days of our trip across India we planned to shoot several sights in the capital of the country: Red Fort, Qutub Minar, and others. In a country, where clean water is as precious as gold, it was quite a generous donation as well. In order to fill in all man-made lakes and canals surrounding the temple required huge supply of water from 151 ponds around the country. The inner side of the basin serves as steps and benches for thousands of viewers.Ĭonstruction of this beautiful site was funded by donations and done through a spirit of volunterism. The fountains are built in the form of a lotus placed inside a large bowl-shaped basin.
![latest and best baps bhajan for pramukh wami maharaj latest and best baps bhajan for pramukh wami maharaj](https://pramukhswami.org/PSM/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Janmjayanti_BAPS_Bochasan.jpg)
The temple complex takes up 12 hectares of land and includes the temple itself, several parks, a museum, a large cultural center where one can learn about Indian traditions and customs, water canals, which you can traverse by boats, and lots of cafes and souvenir shops.Įvery evening there is a laser show with dancing fountains on Swaminarayan Akshardham grounds. Thanks to its enormous size the temple is included in the Guinness Book of World Records. In India, pink color symbolizes love for God, and white color symbolizes absolute purity and peace. Outer surface of the temple is faced with pink sandstone, while the inner surface is faced with white marble.
![latest and best baps bhajan for pramukh wami maharaj latest and best baps bhajan for pramukh wami maharaj](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-PDq5A_0sTM/mqdefault.jpg)
There are over 148 statues of an elephant alone!Īll the facing was done by hand. The structure of Akshardham consists of 234 pillars, 9 shiny domes, 20 four-sided towers, and over 20 thousand figurines depicting themes from Indian mythology. Their combined efforts gave birth to a building 42 meters high, 94 meters wide, and 106 meters long. The construction took over 5 years and involved 7 thousand artisans and 3 thousand construction workers from all over India. So how come Swaminarayan Akshardham (which means "temple of the God"), a magnificent and beautiful temple, is not so famous? The answer is simple: it is very "young". Speaking of Delhi landmarks, one would traditionally mention Red Fort, Qutub Minar, and India Gate on Kingsway. As you might know, almost all followers of Hinduism live in India, and no wonder the world's largest Hindu temple is situated in the capital of India.