Swaminarayan Akshardham, Delhi

Bhagwan Swaminarayan · New Delhi (also Gandhinagar, Gujarat)

Swaminarayan Akshardham in New Delhi, opened by BAPS in 2005, is a large modern mandir in carved pink sandstone and white marble, built in traditional style without structural steel. It is dedicated to Bhagwan Swaminarayan and presents Indian culture and values through exhibitions, gardens and a water show. An earlier Akshardham stands in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

Visitors should note that phones and bags are not allowed inside and must be deposited. Dīpāvalī and the Hindu New Year (Annakūṭ) are celebrated on a grand scale.

Bhagwan Swaminarayan (1781–1830) left home as a boy and, as the young ascetic Nīlakaṇṭha Varṇī, walked for years across India, from the Himalayas to the far south, before settling in Gujarat. There he taught devotion, moral living and service, and his followers revere him as a manifestation of the divine.

Delhi · Gujarat · BAPS · 2005 · Swaminarayan · Annakūṭ

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