Swaminarayan Akshardham - Timeline Event

10-09-2023

The Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), an international Hindu religious and social service organization, began construction of the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, or temple, in 2010 on 160 acres in New Jersey. The first phase, which includes the worship center and prayer hall, opened in 2014. The completed temple opened to the public on Oct. 9, 2023.

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The Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), an international Hindu religious and social service organization, began construction of the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, or temple, in 2010 on 160 acres in New Jersey. The first phase, which includes the worship center and prayer hall, opened in 2014. The completed temple opened to the public on Oct. 9, 2023.

Located outside of Trenton in the town of Robbinsville, it is the world’s largest Hindu temple outside India. The $18 million project includes marble that was quarried in Europe and then sent to India, where the stones were hand-carved. The main gate is adorned with 236 carved peacocks. The temple is 133 feet long and 87 feet wide, hosting 40 spires, 98 pillars, 144 carved sacred figures and nearly 14,000 carved stone pieces. It took approximately 4.7 million hours of work to hand carve the two million cubic feet of stone used to build the temple. The temple is the third Akshardham built by BAPS and the first outside of India. The other two are in New Delhi and Gujarat. BAPS oversees more than 1,200 temples and 3,850 centers around the world.

The New Jersey mandir reflects the BAPS tradition of social work and worship, observing a range of events -- from Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, to World Diabetes Day.