Also called Laxminarayan Temple, this surprisingly recent temple complex may be formed in the traditional Hindu style, but it is open to all.
In a city thick with ancient temples, tombs and forts, it's surprising how recent some of the best-known of New Delhi's attractions are. Perhaps one of the most visited of the capital's many temples is the Birla Mandir Temple, also known as the Laxminarayan Temple. Its richly decorated cream-and-ochre shikara's (domed towers) rear over the parks, schools and woods here in western Delhi – powerfully suggestive of an ancient past. In fact, the temple was only built in 1939. But what it lacks in longevity, it makes up with connections to two of India's most revered figures.Birla Mandir is a predominately Hindu temple, with its 3 hectares and 50-metre high towers, is dedicated, first of all, to the Supreme Lord Vishnu – the foremost of the many gods of Hinduism. Worshippers of Vishnu, called Vaishnavas, flock here for the main Hindu festivals of Diwali and Janmashtami. But the Birla Mandir isn't just for Vaishnavas (or just for Hindus). The other revered figure connected with the temple is Mahatma Gandhi. He opened the temple in 1939 – but only on the condition that the temple would admit all-and-sundry, irrespective of caste or religion.So, as well as the main temple's shrine to Vishnu, with its frescoes, marble icons and carvings of stories from Hindu myths, there are shrines given over to Hanuman, Lord Ganesha, Lord Shiva, and the Buddha. In the south-side of the temple, beneath a shikhar, there is a shrine to Shakti, or Devi Durga, the Hindu goddess of power. The outer part of the temple is built in the Nagara-style, an approach dating back to medieval times. But Birla Mandir was in fact built by Jugal Kishore Birla, a rich 20th-century industrialist, who became a devoted follower of Mahatma Gandhi. He spent much of his life – and fortune – building Hindu temples and schools across India.So while the Birla Mandir isn't the only temple bearing his name, it is perhaps one of the most beautiful. You can spend time admiring its many shrines, and reflecting in its renowned gardens, with their carefully laid-out with walkways, verandas and waterfalls. An island of open spiritual calm in an often crowded and excitable city.
