BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir: 15 Facts About The Hindu Temple in Abu Dhabi

The newly constructed BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Abu Dhabi is ready to be inaugurated on 14th February. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be inaugurating the BAPS Hindu Mandir during his visit on Feb 13 and 14. The temple will be open to the public from Feb 18.

This temple is the first traditional Hindu stone temple in the Middle east. Let us get to know 15 key points about the new BAPS Hindu temple.

1.The new BAPS (Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha) temple is found in Abu Mureikhah with a cost of Rs. 700 crore. It is made from the pink sandstone from Rajasthan and white marbles from Italy. All of the materials were brought from India and put together in the UAE.

2. The temple sits on 13.5 acres of land given by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. He gave this land when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited in 2015.

3. The temple was made by the BAPS (Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha), a Hindu group that really respects Swaminarayan as an incarnation or Avtar of Lord Krishna.

4. The temple's design is inspired by ancient Indian architecture and sculptures. It has seven spires, each representing one of the UAE's emirates.

5. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the BAPS temple in 2017. The UAE Government also gave more 13.5 acre land for it in January 2019. The total area of this temple is 27 acre.

6. Inside, there are rooms for praying, a place for visitors, and pretty gardens to walk around in.

7. The BAPS temple has 100 special sensors with over 350 sensors placed throughout the structure. These sensors collect ground data to check if there are any earthquakes or other problems.

8. Just like the Ayodhya Ram Mandir, this Abu Dhabi Hindu temple doesn't use iron or steel in its construction.

9. They've made a website where people can sign up to go to the opening event. There will be buses from all over the UAE to take people there. Lots of Indian groups in the UAE are helping to plan the event.

10. Besides being a place to worship, the temple will also have rooms for classes, places to show things, and fun places for kids to play.

11. This new Hindu Mandir in UAE has two Ghumats (domes), seven shikhars (spires) that signifies the 7 emirates of UAE, 12 Samrans (dome-like structure) with 402 pillars.

12. The visitors will also get to see two water streams that represent Ganga and Yamuna rivers. And, also a beam of light will represent Saraswati inside the Mandir.

13. The temple showcases culture from across the globe. It has taken values from the Arabic region, Chinese,  Aztec and from Mesopotamia.

14. The temple features seven shrines honoring deities from different regions of India, including Lord Ram, Lord Hanuman, Lord Shiva and family, Lord Jagannath, Lord Krishna, Shri Akshar-Purushottam Maharaj, Lord Tirupati Balaji, and Lord Ayyappa. Each shrine showcases intricate carvings reflecting the life and teachings of the respective deities.

15. The shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva depicts verses from the Shiv Puran and showcases the 12 Jyotirling domains. The celebration of ‘Jagannath Yatra’ is depicted in the shrine of Lord Jagannath, while stories from the Bhagwat and Mahabharat come alive in the shrine of Lord Krishna.