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Modern
Wonder Of The World
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by
Pandit
Rishi
After 5
years of non-stop, round-the-clock construction, the massive and
awesome Akshardham Temple Monument to World Peace was inaugurated
recently. |
The Akshardham
Temple in New Delhi, India, constructed by the BAPS foundation -- the
builders of the various Swaminaryan Temples across the world, is
truly a modern day Wonder of the World.
It is one of
the biggest and most intricate religious places of worship ever
constructed. Combining several completely different and contrasting
architectural styles of Hindu temple architecture of northern India
-- Rajasthani, Orrisan, Gujarati, Mughal and Jain -- the Akshardham
Monument is entirely constructed of marble and the red-sandstone that
Delhi is famous for, and that so many of her monuments are
constructed of. It was completed in only 5 years, a world record of
sorts .
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So after years
of waiting, the Temple was recently opened to the public -- and to
photographers. At its inauguration, it is widely being heralded as
one of the greatest monuments India has ever produced. |
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Monument of Akshardham
The Akshardham
monument, built without steel, is entirely composed of sandstone and
marble. It consists of 234 ornately carved pillars, 9 ornate domes,
20 quadrangle shikhars, a spectacular Gajendra Pith (plinth of stone
elephants) and 20,000 murtis and statues of India's great sadhus,
devotees, acharyas and divine personalities.
The monument
is a fusion of several architectural styles of pink stone and pure
white marble. Pink stone symbolizes bhakti (devotion) in eternal
bloom and white marble of absolute purity and eternal peace. The
monument was built after over 300 million man hours of services
rendered by 11,000 volunteers, sadhus and artisans.
It is the one
of the wonders of the modern world, and the wonders of modern India.
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