Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Cardiff
| Swaminarayan Mandir | |
|---|---|
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 Location in Cardiff
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| Geography | |
| Coordinates | 51°28′26″N 3°11′10″W / 51.474°N 3.186°WCoordinates: 51°28′26″N 3°11′10″W / 51.474°N 3.186°W |
| Country | Wales, United Kingdom |
| Locale | Cardiff |
| Culture | |
| Sanctum | Swaminarayan in the form of Ghanshyam |
| History and governance | |
| Date established | 1979* |
| Date built | 1982 |
Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Cardiff is a Swaminarayan temple located in the Grangetown area of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. It is the first and largest Hindu temple in Wales and comes under the NarNarayan Dev Gadi of the Swaminarayan Sampraday.
It is the first Swaminarayan temple in Wales, purchased in 1979, being opened in 1982. At the time, the temple was located in a converted synagogue. In 1993, it was moved across the road from the original temple site to the current site, replacing an old Irish club.
Between 2005 and 2007, the temple underwent major refurbishment work, at the cost of £700,000. This included installation of new marble idols in the temple, three white stone spires (the first on a Hindu temple in Wales), an exterior in the style of a traditional Hindu temple and new classrooms and living quarters. The three spires were placed above three new altars inside the building – one for women, one for men, and one mixed. Half the original temple was brought down, and replaced. During this period, services took place in a temporary room downstairs while work was under way. Most of the funds for the refurbishment came from donations within the community. The temple also received a grant of £110,000 from the Welsh Assembly Government for the repairs as well as to build disabled access to the temple.
The temple has been in the forefront in humanitarian activities. When an earthquake struck Gujarat in 2001, devotees who originated from Gujarat collected £30,000 in just 3 days for victims. The temple priest immediately flew out to oversee relief work. Hundreds of bags of clothes were donated by the community and shipped to Bhuj, the capital of Kutch district, the epicentre of the earthquake. Similarly, later that year, when the September 11 attacks shook the world, the temple along with other religious establishments in Cardiff held a special service in memory of the people who died in the attack.
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Wikipedia