Context

Art & Culture (GS-I)

BAPS Hindu Mandir

‘BAPS Mandir’, the first traditional Hindu temple in the United Arab Emirates has been inaugurated.

About

• The BAPS Hindu Mandir in Abu Dhabi is the first Hindu temple in UAE.
• The temple is built on a 27-acre site in Abu Mreikhah, near Al Rahba off the Dubai-Abu Dhabi Sheikh Zayed Highway, at a cost of around ?700 crore.
• It incorporates intricately designed pink sandstone and marble façade with seven spires that represent each of the Emirates of the country.
• The temple has been made of 40,000 cubic metres of marble, 1,80,000 cubic metres of sandstone and over 1.8 million bricks.
• The temple’s design draws inspiration from Vedic architecture and sculptures.
• Many of the statues and carvings have been done by artisans in India and have been shipped to Abu Dhabi.
• The vast complex includes a large amphitheatre, a gallery, a library, a food court, a majlis and two community halls with space for 5,000 people.

What is BAPS?

• BAPS stands for the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS).
• The organisation is named after Bhagwan Swaminarayan, a religious leader who lived in the late 1700s.
• It is a socio-spiritual Hindu faith with its roots in the vedas and was pioneered by Bhagwan Swaminarayan (1781-1830) in the late 18th century and established in 1907 by Shastriji Maharaj (1865-1951).
• The Akshardham temples in Delhi and Gujarat are also run by BAPS.