Birla Mandir, Jaipur (Lakshmi Narayan Temple) is a

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to Hindu deities, deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to who ...

located in

Jaipur, India Jaipur (; , ) is the capital and the largest city of the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Located from the national capital New De ...

and is one of many Birla mandirs. It was built by the B.M. Birla Foundation in 1988 and is constructed solely of

white marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is typically not foliat ...

. It is dedicated to the Hindu goddess

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...

and god

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

( Narayan), whose images appear inside, along with other Hindu gods and goddesses and selections from the

Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; ), often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE, which forms part of the epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is a synthesis of various strands of Indian religious thought, ...

and

Upanishads The Upanishads (; , , ) are late Vedic and post-Vedic Sanskrit texts that "document the transition from the archaic ritualism of the Veda into new religious ideas and institutions" and the emergence of the central religious concepts of Hind ...

. It is located in Jaipur's Tilak Nagar neighborhood near Moti Dungari hill.

History

Tradition states that a Maharaja sold the

Birla family The Birla family is an Indian business family connected with the industrial and social history of India. Foundations The Birla family's origins trace to the Maheshwari community of Bania Vaishya traders. The family was outcasted in 1922 when ...

the land for the temple for one rupee. Construction began in 1977 under the direction Ramanauj Das and Ghanshyam Birla. It opened on February 22, 1988.

Architecture

The temple is made of white marble. There are four distinct parts of the temple: its sanctum, tower, main hall, and entrance. It has three towers, referencing the three main faiths of India, as well as

stained glass windows Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

depicting traditional Hindu stories.

Marble sculpture Marble has been the preferred material for stone monumental sculpture since ancient times, with several advantages over its more common geological "parent" limestone, in particular the ability to absorb light a small distance into the surface b ...

s also reference

Hindu mythology Hindu mythology refers to the collection of myths associated with Hinduism, derived from various Hindu texts and traditions. These myths are found in sacred texts such as the Vedas, the Itihasas (the ''Mahabharata'' and the ''Ramayan ...

. It features Hindu deities inside - particularly

, Narayan, and

Ganesh Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions ...

- and figures such as

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

, the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, St. Peter,

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

Confucius Confucius (; pinyin: ; ; ), born Kong Qiu (), was a Chinese philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Much of the shared cultural heritage of the Sinosphere originates in the phil ...

, and

Socrates Socrates (; ; – 399 BC) was a Ancient Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher from Classical Athens, Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and as among the first moral philosophers of the Ethics, ethical tradition ...

on the outer walls. Statues of its founders - Rukmani Devi Birla and Braj Mohan Birla - lie outdoors in covered pavilions, facing the temple with hands folded in namaskāra mudra. Its architectural style is considered to be modern. It was built on a raised platform, which lifts it up into the Jaipur skyline; at night, it becomes covered in light. In addition to the temple itself, the grounds include gardens and a small gift shop. Below the temple lies the B. M. Birla Family Museum and the Sri and Smt. G. P. Birla Gallery; both contain photographs of the temple's construction and the Birla family's philanthropic contributions, as well as treasures belonging to the Birla family.

Gallery

File:Birla mandir jaipur.JPG, alt=white marble Hindu temple File:Birla mandir 3.jpg, alt=white marble Hindu temple File:Handrails of birla mandir.JPG, alt=handrails of white marble Hindu temple File:Jaipur-Birla Mandir-Chattri of the Birla family member-20131016.jpg, alt=white marble Hindu temple File:Birla Mandir 032.jpg, alt=white marble Hindu temple

References

External links

Laxmi Narayan Birla Temple
{{Birla Mandirs Hindu temples in Rajasthan Tourist attractions in Jaipur Hindu temples in Jaipur Birla Mandir