BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham, Robbinsville

About BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham, Robbinsville

BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham in Robbinsville, New Jersey, is the largest Hindu temple in the Western Hemisphere and among the largest in the world. Its central shikhara rises about 213 feet, and the main mandir is 191 feet high, 255 feet long and 345 feet wide, with nine shikharas, nine pyramidal domes and 548 carved marble pillars.

The stone came from many countries — marble from Greece, Turkey and Italy, pink sandstone from Rajasthan, granite from India and limestone from Bulgaria and Turkey — and was carved in Pindwara, Rajasthan, before being shipped some 12,500 miles. The temple carries more than 10,000 statues and motifs, including all 108 poses of Bharatanatyam. Its thirteen shrines honour Swaminarayan and Gunatitanand Swami at the centre, with Radha-Krishna, Venkateshwara-Padmavati, Sita-Rama with Lakshmana and Hanuman, Shiva-Parvati, Ganesha and Kartikeya. The central image of Swaminarayan is 15.5 feet tall, cast in panchadhatu (five metals).

Around the mandir are the Nilkanth Plaza with a 49-foot bronze statue of the young Swaminarayan, the Brahma Kund stepwell holding water from over 300 sources including 108 Indian rivers, a smaller Carrara-marble shikharbaddha mandir, and a haveli-style welcome centre lit by 2,700 lanterns. A six-acre solar farm powers the campus.

History

The project was first envisioned by Pramukh Swami Maharaj in 1984. Land was bought in 2008, groundbreaking rituals took place in 2014 and construction began in 2015; the smaller marble mandir opened in 2014. More than 12,500 volunteers helped build the complex between 2011 and 2023. The last stone was placed on 31 May 2023, and the temple was formally inaugurated by Mahant Swami Maharaj on 8 October 2023 after a three-week celebration.