Akshardham Temple is a marvel of architecture that is unfolding the cultural legacy of 10,000 years. The construction of this grand structure took around 5 laborious years. Today, this imposing structure, standing on the banks of serene Yamuna River near Nizamuddin Bridge in Delhi, attracts millions of tourists and devotees to its doorstep. In Nov’ 2005, Akshardham Mandir was inaugurated by Dr. Abdul Kalam, the honorable President and Mr. Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India.
Swaminarayan Akshardham has been accredited for being the largest temple complex of India. It is amazing to know that this temple is built wholly in stone as per Sthaapatya Shastra, the architectural science of India. No iron or steel has been used in the construction of this temple. The beams, used for support are 22ft long single piece of stone. The intricately carved pillars appears, as if, whole poetry has been carved in stone. The temple extends to the height of 10 stories, where inch to inch of stone is delicately imprinted and what is more, the fascia appears remarkable.
This colossal structure comprises 234 intricately carved pillars, 9 flamboyant domes, 20 quadrangled spires and magnificent a Gajendra Pith. It also boasts of 20,000 idols and statues that depict the great Indian souls in the form of sadhus, devotees, acharyas and divine celebrities. Elevated to the height of 141 feet, the tallest spire of the temple makes the house of the image of Lord Swaminarayan.
An enormous amount of 2 million was spent for the erection of this majestic place of worship. The structure swallowed around 6000 tons of pink sand stone that was all brought from Rajasthan. This technique guarantees the fact that the shrine would last for a thousand years. The edifice took not less than 12 million man hours of 11,000 practiced craftsmen to carve every nook and corner. The splendid architecture of this temple provides glimpse of different architectural styles prevalent in India.