Birla Mandir, Delhi

 The Laxminarayan Mandir, popularly called as Birla Mandir is located in New Delhi. It houses the deities Lord Lakshminarayan(Vishnu) along with his consort goddess Lakshmi. It also has small shrines of Shiva, Ganesha, Hanuman and Buddha within the temple. This temple was buil by Jugal Kishore Birla from 1933 to 1939.

It was the first large Hindu temple built in Delhi and got the name as Birla Mandir due to being constructed by the Birla Family. The temple is built within 7.5 acres of land and is filled with many shrines, fountains and a large garden with sculptures & Geeta Bhawan. 

History

The foundation stone for this Birla temple was laid by Jat Maharaj Udaybhanu Singh and was built under guidance of Pandit Vishwanath Shastri. It was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi and he ensured that everyone can enter inside the temple. 

Sris Chandra Chatterjee a key supporter of modern architecture in India, was the creator of this temple. It was built in Nagara style architecture with three tiers and is decorated with scenes from golden yuga of the present universe cycle. 

The icons of the temple are in marble brought from Jaipur, Kota stone from Makarana, Agra, Kota and Jaisalmer was used in the construction of the temple premises. The left side temple Shikhara houses Devi Durga, the goddess of Shakti. The Geetha Bhawan at the northern side of the temple is dedicated to lord Krishna.

How To Reach

 Kali Bari Marg is the nearest bus stop to the temple at a distance of 240 m and can be reached by walk from the bus stop. Delhi bus stand is 5.6 KM away from the temple and can be reached by taking a local bus or auto.