Swaminarayan Akshardham (North America) Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Swaminarayan Akshardham
Akshardham in Robbinsville, New Jersey
Geography
Location	Robbinsville, Mercer County, New Jersey, U.S.
Architecture
Architectural styles	Vastu Shastra and Pancharatra Shastra
Inscriptions	Spiritual-Cultural Complex
History and governance
Creator	Pramukh Swami Maharaj & Mahant Swami Maharaj

The Swaminarayan Akshardham in Robbinsville, New Jersey, USA, is a huge and beautiful Hindu temple complex. It has a special part called the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, which first opened its doors on August 10, 2014.

The whole Akshardham complex grew even bigger and was opened again on October 8, 2023. It is now the world's second-largest Hindu temple and the biggest one outside of Asia!

The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir
Akshardham Mahamandir Construction
Helping the Community
Gallery
See also

The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir

The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Robbinsville is a Hindu place of worship. It was built by the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha and blessed by Pramukh Swami Maharaj. The BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha is a part of the Swaminarayan faith, which is a branch of Hinduism.

The temple is made from beautiful hand-carved Italian Carrara marble, Indian pink stone, and limestone. It was built following old Hindu rules found in the Vedas, which are sacred scriptures. The temple is open every day for visitors and for worship. Besides the main temple, the complex also has a large hall for gatherings.

Temple and Daily Worship

The mandir is a special type of temple called a shikarbaddha mandir. It was built using rules from the Shilpa Shastras, which are Hindu texts about sacred architecture. Inside the temple, there are sacred images called murtis that have been blessed.

The main area holds the murtis of Swaminarayan and Gunatitanand Swami. They are worshipped together as Akshar-Purushottam Maharaj. Other areas have murtis of different gods and goddesses, like Radha and Krishna, Shiva and Parvati, Sita and Ram, Hanuman, and Ganapati. There are also murtis of the BAPS gurus, who are spiritual leaders after Swaminarayan.

Hindus believe that once the divine is called into a murti, it becomes a form of God. So, Swaminarayan swamis (monks) worship these deities all day long. They wake the deities before sunrise by singing morning hymns. The deities are then bathed and offered food and clothes, depending on the time and season. Food offered to the deities is considered holy and is shared with visitors as prasadam.

A special ceremony called Aarti is done five times a day. During Aarti, people sing praises to God while a lighted lamp is moved in front of the murtis. These Aartis have different names for different times of the day. At night, the swamis dress the murtis in night clothes and prepare them for rest.

How the Temple Was Built

The idea for the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Robbinsville, New Jersey came from Pramukh Swami Maharaj in 1997. He wanted it to be part of a larger Akshardham complex in North America. Building the temple started in 2010.

The temple was built in a traditional style using a lot of Italian Carrara marble. This marble came from quarries in Europe and was sent to Rajasthan, India. There, hundreds of skilled artisans carved the stones by hand. After the carving was finished, the pieces were numbered and shipped to Robbinsville. This numbering system helped put the temple together like a giant puzzle.

A beautiful decorative cover, called a mandap, was built around the temple. This protects it from bad weather and allows people to use it all year. The entrance to this mandap is called the Mayur Dwar. It has amazing carvings of peacocks, elephants, and famous Hindu devotees from the past.

The temple was built mostly by artisans and volunteers. They spent an estimated 4.7 million hours working on it! Volunteers helped with everything from designing and engineering to carving, shipping stones, preparing the site, and even cooking meals. They also helped with lighting, electrical work, polishing, and cleaning the marble.

Grand Opening

The mandir officially opened to the public on August 10, 2014. This happened after the murtis were blessed by Pramukh Swami Maharaj and other senior swamis. Many important people attended the opening ceremony. These included New Jersey Senator Cory Booker and other government officials.

The opening was part of a three-day celebration. It included a big yagna (a fire ceremony) where people prayed for world peace. There was also a special program for women that focused on different faiths working together. More than 20,000 visitors came to the various events. A large Shayona Cafe, serving delicious South Indian and North Indian cuisine, opened in June 2022.

Akshardham Mahamandir Construction

The first marble pillar of the larger Akshardham Mahamandir was put in place on September 4, 2017. This event was celebrated with tours of the complex and cultural programs. It ended with a special Vedic ceremony led by Mahant Swami Maharaj.

Helping the Community

Since 2012, BAPS Charities has held many helpful events at the Robbinsville mandir. These include health fairs and seminars led by volunteer doctors and nurses. Money raised from yearly walk-a-thons has supported good causes. For example, they helped plant 300,000 trees to support The Nature Conservancy's goal of planting a billion trees.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, BAPS Charities provided help all over the world. On March 29, 2020, all six BAPS shikharbaddha mandirs in North America broadcast a special prayer. This prayer was for everyone affected by the pandemic, and over 12,000 families in North America joined in.

Within a month of the pandemic starting, BAPS Charities donated 5,500 N95 face masks to hospitals and medical groups in New Jersey. They also served over 4,000 hot meals to first responders in New York and New Jersey. Care packages were delivered to seniors in New Jersey. They also organized a food drive to collect non-perishable food for local food pantries.

On April 30, 2021, BAPS Charities hosted a vaccination drive at the mandir. This was done with Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. The US Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, praised BAPS Charities for holding these clinics. He said they made it easier for older people to get vaccinated.