Prior to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s inauguration, the expansive Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi, which was constructed by the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, or BAPS society, started to be dedicated on Wednesday. This will be the first Hindu stone temple in Abu Dhabi, constructed on 27 acres of land, with a distinctive blend of UAE identity and Indian culture.
The main event of his short two-day stay in the Gulf state is the opening of the BAPS Mandir, the second largest Hindu temple in the United Arab Emirates.
HH Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the UAE’s Minister of Tolerance, officially opened Dubai’s Temple in October 2022.
Furthermore, the temple’s dedication ceremony, which takes place prior to its public opening on March 1st, will be presided over by Prime Minister Modi.
Here are 10 points on the BAPS Mandir
- The temple is situated on a 27-acre plot of land in Abu Mureikhah, close to Al Rahba, off the Dubai-Abu Dhabi Sheikh Zayed Highway, which was donated by the UAE government. A stone-laying ceremony took place in 2019.
- The expansive building houses a children’s park, a community center, an exhibition hall, a library, and a prayer hall that can accommodate 3,000 people.
- Made from more than 25,000 pieces of stone, the temple’s facade is adorned with exquisite marble carvings created by skilled artisans from Rajasthan and Gujarat against a backdrop of pink sandstone. The pink sandstone was shipped from Rajasthan.
- The temple is built in the classic Nagar architectural style. At 108 feet tall, it is topped with seven shikhars, or spires, each of which symbolizes one of the seven Emirates of the UAE
- The Ganga and Yamuna rivers’ features and finely crafted ghats encircle the BAPS Mandir. The “Dome of Harmony” and the “Dome of Peace” are the two central domes of the temple. Eight idols, representing the eight pillars of Sanatana Dharma, mark the entrance to the temple.
- Stories from several ancient civilizations, including the Maya, Aztec, Egyptian, Arabic, European, Chinese, and African ones, are also depicted in the temple area. On the structure are also stories about the ‘Ramayana’.
- Seven shrines, each honoring a different deity from North, East, West, or South India, are housed within the temple.
- Fly ash was used in the construction of the temple in place of a sizable amount of cement in the concrete mix, reducing carbon footprint.
- The temperature, pressure, stress, and seismic events of the structure are monitored by about 150 sensors, which guarantees the temple’s longevity and safety.
- The BAPS Mandir has already received multiple awards, including Best Architecture Style, Best Traditional Nagar Style, Best Interior Design Concept of the Year 2020, and Best Mechanical Project of the Year 2019 from the MEP Middle East Awards.