PC: BAPS.org<\/p><\/div>\n
The making of BAPS Swaminarayan Temple Robbinsville was a marathon spanning 12 years and involving nearly 13,000 volunteers from across the USA<\/strong>. The monumental construction thousands of miles away from India was a multifaced process that ran from Europe to India to the US. Made of chiseled Italian marbles sourced from different parts of Europe and hand-carved in Rajasthan, the temple is bigger and higher than the Akshardham Mandir in New Delhi.<\/p>\nOne of the interesting facts about the world\u2019s largest Akshardham Temple in New Jersey is that as many as 2000 craftsmen in Rajasthan hand-carved the marble stones<\/strong> from Europe into beautiful pieces of art with chisels and hammers; the pieces were assembled twice. The marble pieces were assembled in India first to check if they would fit accurately and then, they were subsequently numbered. They were finally organized and assembled in the US, according to their numbers.<\/p>\nUndeniably, it was quite challenging to transport the two million cubic feet of marble stones 21,500 miles from Europe to India and then to America.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Needless to say, the temple is an aesthetically wonderful edifice both outside and inside in its complete form<\/strong>. It is encased with a colossal mandap for external protection. The 135-ft wide mandap with delicate engravings on the pillars stands 55 feet tall. The main gate of the mandap, called Mayur Dwar, is a major attraction of the temple. Robbinsville Swaminarayan Temple\u2019s Mayur Dwar is meticulously adorned with 236 sculptures, including peacocks, elephants, monks and devotees carved out of marble.<\/p>\nMayur Dwar (PC: BAPS.org)<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cThe sculptural beauty of the Mayur Dwar will leave you in awe of the artisans who achieved this rare feat in the 21st<\/sup> century. It captures the cultural zeitgeist of the pre-Sultanate era when the Dravidian temple architecture known for intricate designs and intensive wall carvings had flourished,\u201d said Sourav Agarwal, the Editor of Travel Beats, a one-stop community portals for Indians in America.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nThe mandap comprises a grand prayer hall which is spacious enough to accommodate more than 1000 people at a time.<\/strong> Among the breathtaking features of New Jersey\u2019s BAPS Akshardham Mandir are two heavily ornate domes, unique to India\u2019s traditional stone architecture, which are designed to last a thousand years. There are one main shrine, 12 sub-shrines, 9 shikhars, and 9 pyramidal shikhars in the temple complex.<\/p>\nEvery bit of the United Sates\u2019 largest BAPS Swaminarayan Temple design is eloquent enough to tell a story<\/strong>. A whopping 10,000 sculptures and figurines of India\u2019s age-old musical instruments, classical dance forms, and epic characters on pillars, panels, walls and ceilings depict stories of ancient Bharat and the Hindu scriptures. The prayer halls are dotted with life-size idols of saints and sages among India\u2019s spiritual leaders.<\/p>\nAn interface between the architectural styles of north and south Indian temples, the Akshardham Mandir of Robbinsville NJ houses a world-class research institute. Inaugurated in June 2022<\/strong>, the institute is \u201cthe first such center of learning and research of Indian languages and Hindu scriptures in the Swaminarayan tradition in the United States\u201d, with the goal of promoting the highest level of academic excellence in all disciplines of study. The other facilities available within the temple complex include a rest house, a food court, and a visitors\u2019 center housing exhibits related to Indian culture as well as history.<\/p>\n