Akshardham a Hindu temple complex is so well known that it attracts 70% of all tourists to Delhi. It was conceived as a monument to honour centuries of Hindu culture, spiritual values and architecture. Designed and built according to Vedic traditions of Vastu Shastra and Pancharatra Shastra the complex extends over a 60 acre landscaped garden beside the Yamuna river, was completed with the participation of 3,000 volunteers and 7,000 artisans amongst whom were 1,500 tribal women.
The centrepiece of the compound is a fantastic 43 m high, 110 m long and 96 m wide pink monument surmounted by nine domed roofs with pavilions spreading like wings on either side. Built from a combination of Carrara marble and Rajasthan pink sandstone, the above ground part of the structure has no concrete or steel supports. Drawing on several Indian architectural styles the interior of the building is elaborately carved with 234 pillars and houses 20,000 ornate statues of various Hindu deities. At the base of the building is a frieze of life size elephants weighing 3000 tons.
The complex features an IMAX theatre, an exhibition hall and interactive facilities through which the message of Hindu values and wisdom is put across employing modern media and other edutainment methods.
The Hall of Values contains lifelike full size robots and dioramas that portray incidents from the life of Pramukh Swami Maharaj the head of the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha who was responsible for putting together the whole building project.
The IMAX Theater called Neelkanth Kalyan Yatra features a large format screen which measures 26 m x 20 m and shows films specially created for the establishment.
The musical fountain or Yagnapurush Kund, also large in keeping with the dimensions of the other structures in the complex, in fact the largest stepped pond in India, has a show in the evenings illustrating the circle of life. The steps provide a welcome place to relax during the day and in the evening.
Visitors can take peacock inspired boats and go on a ride past ancient Indian universities, laboratories, hospitals and bazaars covering 10,000 years of eventful Indian history in twelve minutes.
The complexs lush garden has its own identity. Beautifully planted and maintained the garden has a statuary representing historical and more recent Indian heroes.
Some other outstanding features of the complex include a lotus shaped sunken garden, a lake surrounding the principal monument with water from 151 water bodies blessed by Swaminarayan, a food court resembling the exotic Ajanta and Elora caves in the state of Maharashtra, an Ayurvedic product bazaar and a research centre for social harmony.
In 2007 the complex made it into the history books by being awarded the Guinness World Record for the worlds largest comprehensive Hindu temple.
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