Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Karachi

Shri Swaminarayan Mandir سوامی نارائن مندر
The Shikhar of the Swaminarayan Temple in Karachi
Shri Swaminarayan Mandir سوامی نارائن مندر Location within Karachi
Name
Devanagari	श्री स्वामीनारायण मन्दिर्
Sanskrit transliteration	śrī svāmīnārāyaṇ mandir
Geography
Coordinates	24°51′N 67°00′E / 24.850°N 67.000°E / 24.850; 67.000Coordinates: 24°51′N 67°00′E / 24.850°N 67.000°E / 24.850; 67.000
Country	Pakistan
State/province	Sindh
District	Karachi District
Locale	M. A. Jinnah Road, Karachi
Culture
Primary deity	Narnarayan Dev and Swaminarayan
History and governance
Date built	1849

The Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Karachi (Urdu: شری سوامی نارائن مندر‎) is a Hindu temple that belongs to the NarNarayan Dev Gadi of the Swaminarayan Sampraday and is the only Swaminarayan temple in Pakistan. The temple is notable for its size and frontage, over 32,306 square yards (27,012 m²) on the M. A. Jinnah Road in Karachi city. The temple celebrated its anniversary of 150 years in April 2004. It is believed that not only Hindus but also adherents of Islam visit the temple, which adds to its notability. There is a sacred cowshed within the premises of this temple. The temple is located at the centre of a Hindu neighborhood in Karachi. The building that housed a dharmshala (guest house) for visiting devotees has now been converted to the office of the City District Government.

The temple became a refugee camp in 1947. The original images of Swaminarayan were removed and taken to India during the turbulent times of independence. One murti that was originally at this temple is now located in Khan Village, Rajasthan. People who wished to settle in India from all over Sindh awaited their departure to India by ship at this temple. The temple was visited by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan during this period. In 1989, for the first time since the independence in 1947, a group of sadhus from the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Ahmedabad visited the temple. Since then, small groups from the Ahmedabad temple pay this temple a visit every few years in a pilgrimage.