Akshardhamor Swaminarayan Akshardham complexis a Hindu mandir, and a spiritual-cultural campus in New Delhi, India. [1[!Also re"erred to as Delhi Akshardhamor Swaminarayan Akshardham, the complex displays millennia o" traditional Hinduand Indian culture,spirituality, and architecture. It is the lar#estHindu templea"ter theAkshardham in $andhina#ar%oth inspired and de&eloped %y 'ramukh Swami (ahara), the spiritual head o" the *ochasanwasi Shri Akshar 'urushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, whose +,&olunteers helped ,artisansconstruct the temple. [+[/he temple, which attracts approximately percent o" all tourists who &isit Delhi, [0[was o""icially opened on No&em%er !0 %yDr. A.'.2. A%dul 3alam. [+It sits near the %anks o" the4amunaad)acent to the!15ommonwealth $ames&illa#e in eastern New Delhi. [/he temple, at the center o" the complex, was %uilt accordin# to the Vastu shastraandPancharatra shastra. /he complex "eatures anA%hisheka (andap,Saha) Anand water show, a thematic #arden and three exhi%itions namely Saha)anand Darshan 6Hall o" 7alues8, Neelkanth Darshan 6an I(A9 "ilm on the early li"e o" Swaminarayanas the teena#e yo#i, Neelkanth8, and Sanskruti Darshan 6cultural %oat ride8. Accordin# to Swaminarayan Hinduism,the wordAkshardhammeans the a%ode o" $od and %elie&ed %y "ollowers as a temporal home o" $od on earth. [:[;Akshardham Mandir[editSwaminarayan Akshardham, New Delhi /he main attraction o" the S waminarayan Akshardham complex is the Akshardham (andir. It rises 11-"oot 6+ m8 hi#h, spans +1-"oot 6;m8 wide, and extends +0-"oot 61; m8 lon#. [1It is intricately car&ed with "lora,"auna, dancers, musicians, and deities. Desi#ned in accordance with the standards o"(aharishi 7astu Architecture,it "eatures a %lend o"architectural styles across India. [11[1!It is entirely constructed "rom<a)asthanipink sandstone and Italian 5arrara mar%le. *ased on traditional Hindu architectural #uidelines 6 Shilpa shastras8 on maximum temple li"e span, it makes no use o" "errous metal. /hus, it has no support "rom steel orconcrete. [1+/he mandir also consists o" !+ornately car&ed pillars, nine domes, and !,murtiso" sadhus, de&otees, and acharyas. [/he mandir also "eatures the $a)endra 'ith at its %ase, a plinth payin# tri%ute to the elephant"or its importance in Hindu culture and India=s history. It contains 1: li"e si>ed elephants in total wei#hin# a total o" +tons. [1
