Washington: One of the world’s largest Hindu temples, built completely of Italian marble at an estimated cost of $18 million will be inaugurated next week in New Jersey, which has one of the biggest population of Indian Americans in the US.
The temple constructed by Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, is 134 feet long and 87 feet wide, comprises 108 pillars and three garbha gruhas. The entire temple, the sixth traditional stone Swaminarayan mandir in North America, has been covered by a permanent structure to increase the structure’s life and accommodate darshan and worship during the region’s harsh winter.
Located in the Robbinsville township of New Jersey, the temple has been built according to the Shilpa Shastras or ancient architectural texts following a tradition of temple building through the millennia. The inauguration of the traditional hand-carved stone temple on August 10 marks the completion of the second phase of the Swaminarayan Akshardham complex that is planned for the site.
