Swaminarayan sect opens $100-million quake-proof temple near Hollywood
("Daily News & Analysis," January 3, 2013)
One of the biggest Hindu temples in the US, built at a whopping cost of
$100 million near the Hollywood city in Los Angeles has become a major draw
for its grandeur and environment-friendly design, since its inauguration. The
68th Swaminarayan temple of Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam
Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) has been built using 35,000 pieces of meticulously
hand
carved Italian Carrara marble and Indian Pink Sandstone, temple officials
said.
BAPS said that it is first earthquake-proof mandir in the world and is
expected to last for 1,000 years. "The Mandir is a beautiful testament to the
hard work of your congregation who has spent several years to build this
place of worship," Chino Hill mayor Peter Rogers said. "The mandir and
cultural center will indeed be a place that Chino Hills can be proud of for so
many, many generations," he said, at the temple's inauguration on December 23.
Using cutting edge technology to protect it from earthquakes, the temple
encompasses five pinnacles, two large domes, four balconies, 122 pillars and
129 archways. The 6,600 hand-carved motifs depict a mosaic of tales of
inspiration, devotion and dedication, along with historical figures from
Hinduism, temple officials said. "Artisans created the carvings in India with
great love, skill and patience before the pieces were shipped to Chino Hills,"
a BAPS statement said.
The mandir is situated on a 20-acre site, complete with 91 foot
lotus-shaped reflection pond, a cultural centre, gymnasium and classrooms. It
is
designed to "calm the mind and open it," said Ronak Patel, a volunteer of the
BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, adding that, "The upper structure of the complex
is protected from earthquake damage by separating it from the base with a
series of 40 base-isolator units."
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