Akshardham Temple in New Delhi

After 5 years of non-stop, round-the-clock construction, the massive and awesome Akshardham Temple
Monument to World Peace was inaugurated last week. The Akshardham Temple in New Delhi, India,

Constructed by the BAPS foundation -- the builders of the various Swaminaryan Temples across the world, is truly a modern day Wonder of the World.

It is one of the biggest and most intricate religious places of worship ever constructed.
Combining several completely different and contrasting architectural styles of Hindu temple
architecture of northern India -- Rajasthani, Orrisan, Gujarati, Mughal and Jain. 

The Akshardham Monument is entirely constructed of marble and the red-sandstone that Delhi
is famous for, and that so many of her monuments are constructed of.

It was completed in only 5 years a world record of sorts. So after years of waiting, the Temple
opened to the public -- and to photographers. Below is the New Delhi Akshardham Complex as seen
through the eyes of a BAPS photographer. 

The pictures are a great many and will take a long time to load, but totally, totally worth the wait!

At its inauguration, it is widely being heralded as one of the greatest monuments India has ever
produced.  I hope you enjoy viewing this architectural marvel as much as I enjoyed having the honor
presenting it.

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,
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 is a fusion
of several architectural styles of pink stone and pure white marble. Pink stone symbolizes
bhakti (devotion) in eternal bloom and white marble of absolute purity and eternal peace.
The monument was built after over 300 million man hours of services rendered
by 11,000 volunteers, sadhus and artisans. It is one of the wonders of the modern world,
and the wonders of modern India.