Image clicked in 2019 AD
Laxminarayan Temple or Birla Temple, New Delhi, India.
India has been a country of all major religious believes since its past. Almost all the religions have its specific places of worship and prayers. Temple is one of such religious places where Hindus go to worship and pray frequently. There are numbers of famous temples in India. The Laxminarayan temple of Delhi is one of them.
Laxminarayan Temple is also known as Sri Laxmi Narayan Mandir, Birla Temple and Birla Mandir. The Laxminarayan temple was the biggest and the most beautiful Hindu temple in Delhi until completion of the Akshardham Temple on the bank of river Yamuna in 2005. The Laxminarayan Temple built in 20th century is one of the most visited temples of Delhi by local devotees and tourists from all over India and abroad.
During the festivals of Janmashtami and Diwali, Laxminarayan temple turns into a major attracting center, visited by large numbers of devotees.
The Laxminarayan Temple was the first biggest temple covering an area of 3 hectares (7.5 acres) including a park with sculptures. This is located near Connaught Place, New Delhi, in India. The main temple building has 3 floors from its base, accommodating the shrines of idols on its high plinth of first floor. The highest shikhara (peak) of the temple above the sanctum sanctorum is 49 meter (160 feet) high. This temple is one of major tourist attraction of Delhi.
The Laxminarayan Temple was funded and built by an industrialist and his son. His name was Baldeo Das Birla and his son was Jugal Kishore Birla. B. D. Birla was a rich industrialist and he was a friend of Mahatma Gandhi. In fact, Mahatma Gandhi suggested him to build temples in different Indian cities, accessible to all castes.
The Laxminarayan Temple was first of its series to start from Delhi. Since this temple was supported by Birla, it is also famous as “Birla Temple” Delhi.
Sris Chandra Chatterjee was the architect of Lakshminarayan Temple. He invited and employed around one hundred skilled artisans from Benares city to build and carve the temple. The Laxminarayan Temple is in northern or “Nagara Style of temple architecture”. The Nagara Style of temple architecture was mostly used during 5th and 6th century AD in India.
The foundation stone of the temple was laid by Jat Maharaja Udaybhanu Singh in 1933. The carvings and icons of temple were carried on under the guidance of Acharya Bishvanath Shastri. Some of the walls inside the temple are adorned with carvings depicting scenes from religious text of Hindus from Ramayana and Mahabharata.
On the exterior, the garbhagriha (central shrine) is crowned by a tower-like shikhara (peak). On the outer wall of temple, you can see many carvings including the symbol of “Swastika”. Many foreign tourists get confused with Hitler’s Nazi symbol, used on his flag. Hitler defamed swastika using a sign, as same as swastika.
The making of Laxminarayan temple started in 1933 AD, and it was completed in the year 1939. It took 7 years of hard work to complete the Birla Mandir in Delhi.
The Laxminarayan temple was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi was well aware of the Indian society. There were practices of caste system within Hindus, in which people of lower social strata of the same were believed to be impure. And they were discriminated in society, and they were not permitted to enter in a temple.
Mahatma Gandhi inaugurated the Birla Temple of Delhi in 1939, on the condition that people of all castes will be allowed the temple, without any discrimination.
This temple is dedicated to Laxmi Devi (goddess of prosperity) and Narayan Bhagwan (the preserver), their idols are housed in central shrine of temple thus, called LaxmiNarayan Mandir. Apart from idols of LaxmiNarayan, the Darshana or a view of other famous Hindu gods and goddesses can be taken here in this temple.
The statues (Murtis) of gods and goddesses like Durga Devi, Shankar or Shiva Bhagwan, Devi Parvati, Krishna Bhagwan, Shri Rama, Sita Devi, Laxmana Ji, Hanuman Ji and Bhagwan Ganesha, are other beautiful attractions of the temple. All these idols are beautifully carved out into white marble brought from the state of Rajasthan.
The Laxminarayan temple houses a Geeta Bhawan Hall, where religious discourse is organized from time to time. The Geeta Bhawan is located in northern part of the temple and it is dedicated to Krishna.
Temple is the revered and respected place of worship. Therefore, you need to remove your shoes and sandals before entering the temple. For foreign tourist, there is a room on ground floor, where you can remove and keep your shoes or sandals.
Since mobiles, cameras and photography are not allowed in the temple. There are some locker facility that you can use to keep your camera and mobile safe. There is no entry charge to visit the temple.
As you enter the temple after stepping up stair, there is a big metallic bell hanging from ceiling of a gate over head. The devotees generally ring this bell before entering the main shrine.
During a visit in the temple, tourists are required to maintain silence and peace. If you like, you can ask a priest sitting near idols of gods, to put a red color dot on your forehead. It is believed to be a symbol of good luck. Priests of the temple are generally Brahmins dressed in orange color.
You can see some devotees carrying fresh flowers, coconut and some sweets in a small basket in their hands. These are the items of offerings to gods and goddesses, offered with great respect in the temple shrines.
I will recommend this site for those tourist, specially foreigners, who have never been to a Hindu temple. You can see the most famous and beautifully carved idols of gods and goddesses here. This can be a good place of visit on a tour in Delhi city.
Shri Laxminarayan Mandir, Mandir Marg, Near Gole Market, Connaught Place, New Delhi, India.
Note: Temple is closed at lunch time from 01:30 PM to 02:30 PM daily.
The temple is quite accessible by road and Delhi Metro Rail, due to its location in central Delhi. You can reach to temple by hiring an auto/cab/taxi or by public transport like bus or metro rail.
K. Ashram Marg is the nearest metro station (Subway).
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