Global Lehigh Strategic Initiatives (without descriptions)
AkshArdhAm temple's spiritual theme park
1. AkshArdhAm temple
Submitted To: Submitted By:
Mr Shubham Gupta
M.B.A FACULTY VINIT VATS (57)
HINDU INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT( SONIPAT)
2. Created By:
HDH Pramukh Swami Maharaj, BAPS
Built In:
6 November 2005 (consecration)
History:
It was Built by HDH Pramukh Swami Maharaj in Order to Fulfill the wish of
His Guru (Teacher) Brahmaswarup Yogiji Maharaj, the fourth successor in the
spiritual hierarchy of Bhagwan Swaminarayan
Famous As:
It is famous as India's Spiritual Theme Park.
Visiting Hours:
9 am to 9 pm (Tuesday – Sunday). It remains closed on Monday.
Enjoy:
3. A 12 Minute Boating Experience Showcasing World's Oldest Vedic Village
and Bazaar.
Sit Around:
Yagnapurush Kund, A Musical Fountain. Also World's Largest Yagna Kund
(Sacrificial Fire).
Must See:
Epic Period Film Featuring an Exciting and Inspiring Pilgrimage of Neelkanth
Varni a Child-yogi of 18th Century.
Other Attractions:
Bharat Upvan (Gardens).
Inside Tip:
Visit the Temple at Evening as it Comes Alive Due to the Magnificent Lighting
Effects. This place is ideal for Photography.
Some Amazing Facts About The Temple:
4. • It is one of the biggest and most intricate religious places of worship
ever constructed
• The Akshardham monument, built without steel, is entirely composed of
sandstone and marble
• It consists of 234 ornately carved pillars, 9 ornate domes, 20
quadrangled shikhars, a spectacular Gajendra Pith (plinth of stone
elephants) and 20,000 murtis and statues of India's great sadhus,
devotees, acharyas and divine personalities
• The monument was built after over 300 million man hours of services
rendered by 11,000 volunteers, sadhus and artisans
• The ornate external wall (Mandovar) is the only and largest, intricately
carved structure with dimensions of 611ft x 31ft that is built in the last
800 years
• The Gajendra Pith stretching for 1,070 ft and weighing 3,000 tons, has
148 full-sized elephants, 42 birds and animals, 125 human sculptures!
• The Akshardham parikrama (circumambulatory path) consists of 1,152
pillars, 145 windows and 154 samvaran shikhars; amounting to a total of
53,956 stones.
5. History:
Akshardham is a Hindu temple Hindu temple complex in Delhi, India. It is also
referred to as Delhi Akshardham or Swaminarayan Akshardham, the complex
displays centuries of traditional Indian and Hindu culture, spirituality, and
architecture. The building was inspired and moderated by Pramukh Swami
Maharaj, the spiritual head of the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam
Swaminarayan Sanstha, whose 3,000 volunteers helped 7,000 artisans construct
Akshardham.
The temple, which attracts approximately 70 percent of all tourists who visit
Delhi, was officially opened on 6 November 2005. It sits on the banks of the
Yamuna adjacent to the proposed 2010 Commonwealth Games village. The
monument at the center of the complex of built off of the Vastu Shastra and
Pancharatra Shastra. The complex features a large central monument crafted
entirely of stone, exhibitions on incidents from the life of Swaminarayan and
the history of India, an IMAX feature, a musical fountain, and large landscaped
gardens.
Exhibitions:
Hall of Values
Also known as Sahajanand Pradarshan, the Hall of Values features life-like
robotics and dioramas which display incidents from Bhagwan Swaminarayan's
life, portraying his message about the importance of peace, harmony, humility,
service to others and devotion to God. The hall features the world's smallest
animatronic robot in the form of Ghanshyam Maharaj, the child form of
Bhagwan Swaminarayan.
6. Theatre
Named Nilkanth Kalyan Yatra, the theatre houses Delhi's first and only large
format screen, measuring 85-foot (26 m) by 65-foot (20 m). The theatre shows
a film specially commissioned for the complex, Nilkanth Yatra, to recount a 7
year pilgrimage made by Bhagwan Swaminarayan made during his teenage
years throughout India. Mystic India, an international version of the film called,
was released in 2005 at IMAX theatres and giant screen cinemas worldwide. A
27-foot (8.2 m) tall bronze statue of Nilkanth Varni is located outside the
theatre.
Boat Ride
Named Sanskruti Vihar, this ride takes visitors on a journey through 10,000
years of Indian history in approximately 12 minutes. Visitors sit in specially
designed peacock shaped boats that make their way around an artificial river,
passing through a model of Takshashila, the world's first university, chemistry
laboratories, ancient hospitals, and bazaars, finally ending with a message
expressing hope for the future of India.
7. Musical Fountain
It is the musical fountain and the statue of Nilkanth Varni in its background.
Known as the Yagnapurush Kund, it is India's largest step well. It features a
very large series of steps down to a traditional yagna kund. During the day,
these steps provide rest for the visitors to the complex and at night, a musical
fountain show representing the circle of life is played to an audience which is
seated on the same steps. The fountain is named after the founder of the Hindu
organization, Shastriji Maharaj. The fountain measures 300 feet (91 m) by
300 feet (91 m) with 2,870 steps and 108 small shrines. In its center lies an 8-
petaled lotus shaped yagna kund designed according to the Jayaakhya Samhita
of the Panchratra shastra.
Disputes
Three temples, the Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai, the Sri
Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam, and the Arunachaleswarar Temple in
Thiruvannamalai, all located in Tamil Nadu, India, are claimed to be larger
8. than Akshardham. The trustees of these temples have reportedly disputed the
Guinness World Record.
The Meenakshi temple in Madurai has the length of 850 feet (260 m) and
breath of 800 feet (240 m). The entire area of this temple is 17 acres
(0.069 km2); while the Sri Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam covers
156 acres (0.63 km2) and the Arunachaleswarar Temple in Thiruvannamalai is
24 acres (0.097 km2). Authorities at the Meenakshi temple have argued that
temples are places for worship and hence restaurants, boating facilities and
other entertainment facilities cannot be part of the temple which is the case of
Akshardham. They have also argued that construction area of the actual temple
is more important than the land area.
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