Laxminarayan Temple

Laxminarayan Temple
Name
Other names	Birla Temple
Proper name	Laxmi Narayan Temple
Devanagari	श्री लक्ष्मीनारायण मन्दिर
Geography
Country	India
Location	New Delhi
Culture
Primary deity	Laxmi Narayan (Vishnu with his consort Lakshmi)
Important festivals	Janmashtami, Diwali
Architecture
Architectural styles	Nagara style of Hindu temple architecture
History and governance
Date built	1939
Creator	Baldeo Das Birla

The Laxminarayan Temple (Hindi: श्री लक्ष्मीनारायण मन्दिर, also known as the Birla Mandir) is a Hindu temple up to large extent dedicated to Laxminarayan in Delhi, India. Laxminarayan usually refers to Vishnu, Preserver in the Trimurti, also known as Narayan, when he is with his consort Lakshmi. The temple, inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi, was built by Baldeo Das Birla and his sons (including Ghanshyam Das) from 1933 and 1939. The side temples are dedicated to Shiva, Krishna and Buddha.

It was the first large Hindu temple built in Delhi. The temple is spread over 7.5 acres, adorned with many shrines, fountains, and a large garden with Hindu and Nationalistic sculptures, and also houses Geeta Bhawan for discourses. The temple is one of the major attractions of Delhi and attracts thousands of devotees on the festivals of Janmashtami and Diwali.

The construction of temple dedicated to Laxmi Narayana started in 1933, built by industrialist and philanthropist, Baldeo Das Birla and his son Jugal Kishore Birla of Birla family, thus, the temple is also known as Birla Temple'. The foundation stone of the temple was laid by Maharaj Udaybhanu Singh. The temple was built under guidance of Pandit Vishwanath Shastri. The concluding ceremony and Yagna was performed by Swami Keshwa Nandji. The famous temple is accredited to have been inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi in 1939. At that time, Mahatma Gandhi kept a condition that the temple would not be restricted to the Hindus and people from every caste would be allowed inside.

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