You must visit the Akshardham temple when you are in the capital of India. It is not a simple house of worship. It is a big cultural, spiritual, and entertaining complex. Indians usually spend the whole day here with their families. In 2007 the temple was registered in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest Hindu temple. Since then, however, the Akshardham temple in New Jersey outrivaled its Indian counterpart. The water and light show at night is so spectacular that it easily beats the highly promoted versions in Dubai or Singapore.
In this article, I share all the information that helps you plan your visit to the Akshardham temple.
The history of the Akshardham mandir (temple)
The term Akshardham is the combination of two words: ‘Akshar’ means ‘eternal’ and ‘Dham’ means ‘abode’, in other words, “abode of eternal values and virtues”. It was built without any structural steel in an ancient style with hand-carved stones. 11.000 artisans and volunteers constructed it within only 5 years (2000-2005!).
This temple is different from others because it is not dedicated to a Hindu god, but to a highly respected sage, Bhagwan Swaminarayan (1781- 1830).
Swaminarayan Bhagwan started a 9 year and 11 months spiritual journey in India and Nepal at the age of 11 and settled in Gujarat around 1799. Shree Swaminarayan opened charity-houses for the poor and organized food and water for people during times of drought. He stopped female infanticide (killing baby girls) and restored criminals as ordinary civilians through his divine. He stood up for the education of females and preached, that everyone can attain eternal salvation and even gained followers from other religions.
The architecture of the Akshardham temple
Every small detail and carving carries a symbolic meaning in the temple that makes it a spiritual masterpiece. It also consists of 234 ornately carved pillars, 9 ornate domes, and 20.000 carvings depicting Hindu gods, divine creatures, and sages.
Holy animals appear on the adjacent buildings, gates, and the outside of the temple. The platform on which the temple stands is famous for its impressive carvings as well. It displays the elephant as a helping hand for the humans. An elephant is regarded as a holy animal in Hindu culture, the symbol of power, and is a popular theme in arts.
The whole structure was built by hand from sandstone and marble! Over 6.000 tons of pink sandstone was delivered from Rajasthan. The temple has a spiritual interior that takes your breath away with Swaminarayan’s golden statue in the center. The construction cost more than 4 billion dollars!
What to do when you visit the Akshardham complex
- The Akshardham complex includes several exhibitions where visitors can watch educative movies about the ideals of non-violence, honesty, harmony, and spirituality or discover the life of Swaminarayan. The „cultural boat ride” drives you through the cultural and historical heritage of India. You learn about the first inventions, monuments, and everything India contributed to the world in the past.
- The temple is surrounded by the Narayan Sarovar lake. It carries water from 151 lakes and rivers in India, which were blessed by Swaminarayan. The 108 faces of cows placed along the lakes represent 108 Hindu deities.
- A Lotus garden adjoining the complex got its name after its Lotus shape when seen from above. The Lotus is made of large stones where quotes from Shakespeare, Martin Luther, Swami Vivekananda, and other eminent figures are engraved.
- In the Garden of India, you can find bronze statues that honor India’s child heroes, warriors, freedom fighters, and great women personalities who are epic characters of the country.
Pramukh Swami, the founder of the Akshardham temple in India
It was Pramukh Swami, a spiritual guide with millions of followers who founded the temple. He was president of BAPS, an off-shoot of the original sect, named after its founder, Swaminarayan. The followers of the Swaminarayan religious sect consider their founder as a God. The BAPS sect even believes that all the gurus that followed, including Pramukh Swami, can establish contact with God and show the path to liberation. Pramukh Swami was initiated as a sadhu (a wandering celibate monk) at the age of 18. Many were skeptical when he became president of the BAPS Swaminarayan when he was only 28 years old. He promoted non-violence and religion as a mean to peaceful coexistence and collected millions of followers. Upon the death of his predecessor, he became the guru, the spiritual leader of the sect.
He traveled to meet world leaders, gave a speech at the UN, and contributed to the construction of 1000 temples in India and 125 in other countries for 5 decades. Thanks to him, the local sect centered in Gujarat became a global social-cultural movement. He died at the age of 94, in 2016, shortly before the day of Independence of India. More than half a million people gathered for the last rites of the guru. Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, rushed to Gujarat state where he died and said: “You have lost a guru. I have lost a father.”
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, former president of India (2002-2007), was a faithful devotee of the guru, and he was the one to inaugurate the Akshardham temple complex in New Delhi.
Akshardham temples in India and the world
Akshardham temples in the world share the same “haveli” architectural style, and they all have amazing structures. There are similar temples in Nairobi, Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, New York, and Toronto, etc.
The Akshardham temple in New Jersey, opened in 2014, is almost three times larger than the one in New Delhi. This is the biggest Hindu temple complex in the world.
It was an incredible procedure to handicraft the Italian stone marble in India and transport it to the United States. 2000 artists hand-carved the marble pieces, and they numbered each piece in India before delivery. It also requested high skills to assemble the pieces according to their numbers. Tons of marble made the way from Europe to India and then to America.
The four-storey structure, similar to the counterpart in New Delhi, is part of a much bigger complex dedicated to the Indian cultural heritage. Thousands of volunteers were working on that with the help of the Indian community living in the USA. The Indians in New Jersey and other states came forward to devote their time in all possible ways, including preparing food for the artisans, cleaning up the construction site, etc.
Similarly, the mighty Akshardham temple in London was also handcrafted in India and was assembled piece by piece by thousands of volunteers.
Practical information for your visit to Akshardham temple
Where is the Akshardham temple?
The Akshardham temple is located in the suburbs of New Delhi in Noida Mor, a bit out of the typical touristic itinerary, but it is worth all the efforts to get there.
How to get to the Akshardham temple?
The cheapest way to get to the Hindu temple is by taking the Blue Metro Line to Akshardham metro station. It is only a five minutes’ walk from there. The other cheap and fast option is to take an Uber taxi.
Opening hours:
It is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 9:30 AM to 7:30 PM every week.
How much does the ticket cost?
The entrance to Akshardham temple is free of charge. The ticket for the evening music fountain and laser show costs: Adults – INR 80, Children – INR 50, Senior Citizen – INR 80, Children (Below Age 4): Free
Akshardham Temple Delhi Exhibition Fees: Adults – INR 170, Children – INR 100, Senior Citizen – INR 125
Important information about the visit to Akshardham
- There is a strict security check to enter the complex. Bags, food, cigarettes, lighters, cameras, phones, and any electronics are not allowed inside.
- You cannot take a photo inside (although professional photographers provide their service inside). And you must keep all these items in the locker room or better not to bring them at all.
- As in every Hindu temple, you must remove your shoes inside the mandir.
When is the best time to visit Akshardham temple?
Akshardham is a huge complex with plenty of things to do. You need a minimum of a couple of hours, even half a day for the visit. I recommend that you go around 2-3pm and stay for the evening lights and shows. This is the highlight of your visit to Akshardham.
The music fountain and light show of Akshardham (timing and price)
The 24 minutes light and water show usually starts after sunset between 7 pm and 7.30 pm. The show is a combination of great music, lights, and water play that recalls ancient Indian epic and imparts a spiritual message to the audience at the same time.
Before the show taste one of the traditional Indian specialties at the food court. There is a vegetarian restaurant modeled on Ajanta and Ellora caves of Maharashtra and an Ayurvedic bazaar as well. It is a great way to interact with locals and to relax with them.
If you have already been to the Akshardham temple I’m curious about your opinion.
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by Agnes Simigh
I’m a passionate tour guide and travel writer, who is curious to discover places that seldom catch the attention of the media or that are misrepresented. My goal is to inspire you to choose off-the-beaten-track destinations by sharing objective and detailed information. I believe that it is mainly the lack of “intel” that keeps us away from incredible places. And that just shouldn’t be the case.