Swaminarayan Akshardham Complex is the latest tourist
attraction in India. The complex is considered as one of the wonders
of modern India. The complex is spread over swooping 30 acres on the
banks of the river Yamuna near Noida in East Delhi. The Akshardham
monument or temple is one of the biggest worship places in India.
Built with sandstone and mable the monument is a remakable
architectural feat achieved, with several architectural temple
styles.
The palace-like monument is built of at least 12,000 tons of pink
sandstone and white marble brought in from Rajasthan. The temple
consists of 234 intricately carved and ornated pillars. Roofed by 9
ornated domes in all the temple stands well above 129 feet high, 275
feet wide and 315 feet long.. The temple consists of 20 Shikhars and
a spectacular Gajendra Pith (plinth of stone elephants). The temple
houses 20,000 statues of Hindu dieties and motifs. The construction
of temple took five years and The estimated Rs.400-crore cultural
complex, inspired by Pramukh Swami Maharaj of the Bochasanwasi Shri
Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), will be popular for
the cultural education and entertainment". The temple complex
has drawn inspiration for its architecture from the historic temples
of Badrinath (Uttaranchal), Somnath (Gujarat) and Konark (Orissa).
It is the second Akshardham complex in the country after the one at
Gandhinagar in Gujarat.
Besides the grand monument the complex has two huge exhibition
halls meant for visual journey of tourists through India's cultural
heritage and Indian moral values. The complex also houses an Imax
cinema, a canteen which can accommodate a maximum of 5,000 people at
one sitting, a research centre for "social harmony" and
meditation gardens with fountains and bronze sculptures. Ghaziabad,
Noida,Faridabad and Gurgaon are some of the nearest cities of
Swaminarayan Akshardham Complex.
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