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New Delhi: Next month, the United States will welcome its largest Hindu Temple. The BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham, situated 90 km south of Times Square in New Jersey, is scheduled for formal inauguration on October 8.
Over 12,500 volunteers from across the US dedicated nearly 12 years to building the 183-acre temple.
Located in New Jersey’s Robbinsville Township, the temple is possibly the second largest after Angkor Wat in Cambodia, a UNESCO World Heritage site spanning across 500 acres.
The Akshardham temple in Delhi spans across 100 acres.
The designers of the Swaminarayan Akshardham temple in the US have fashioned it in accordance with ancient Indian culture. There are over 10,000 statues and carvings of Indian musical instruments and dance forms at the temple.
Besides a main shrine, the temple has 12 sub-shrines, nine shikhars (spire-like structures), and nine pyramidal shikhars. It also has the largest elliptical dome of traditional stone architecture.
The Hindu Temple will open for visitors from October 18.
