Delhi is the capital of India and home to more than 16 million residents. Hinduism is the city’s majority religion making up more than 80% of the population. This is followed by Islam at around 12%. Other minority faiths include Sikhism, Jainism, Christianity, and Buddhism. Albeit few in number, there are also Zoroastrians, Baháʼís and Jews.
The Sri Sri Radha Parthasarathi temple is affiliated to the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). Parthasarathi means, or refers to, Krishna as the charioteer for Arjuna in the Kurukshetra War that is described in the Hindu poem Mahabharata.
The deities at ISKCON Delhi are Sri Sri Radha Parthasarathi, Sita Rama Laxman, Hanuman and Sri Sri Gaura Nitai. Please advise me of others and any corrections.
The temple houses the largest copy of the Bhagavad Gita. The book weighs 800 kg and measures over 2.8 metres. It was unveiled by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, on 26 February, 2019.
It was nice to meet the temple manager, Subhag Das.
You can’t take mobile phones into Akshardham in Delhi, so no photos other than that taken from the road on the way from the airport to the hotel. It’s a Swaminarayan temple that is as spiritually impressive as it is from architectural, engineering, and construction perspectives. “Seven thousand carvers and three thousand volunteers were put to work for the construction”. The temple measures 109m long, 96m wide and 43m high. Construction of the Swaminarayan Akshardham temple complex began on 8 November 2000 and was opened on 6 November 2005. No one can understand how it was built so quickly. The temple houses several mertis: Swaminarayan, Sita-Rama, Radha-Krishna, Shiva-Parvati and Lakshmi-Narayana. Great to have been able to visit the temple that includes informative exhibitions and a stunning water/light show.
India Gate is a memorial to 74,187 soldiers of the Indian Army who died between 1914 and 1921 in the First World War. There are 13,300 servicemens’ names, including some soldiers and officers from the United Kingdom, inscribed on the structure. The Gate was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, an English architect who was instrumental in the construction of New Delhi.
Raj Ghat is a memorial complex in Delhi on the west bank of the Yamuna River. The Ghat includes the memorial dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi and marks the spot of his cremation. Gandhi was born in Porbandar in Gujarat State (I’ve been there too and here is a picture from my visit) on 2 October 1869 and was assasinated on 30 January 1948 in Delhi. Gandhi is remembered and respected for leading a nonviolent campaign for India’s independence from British rule.
Please excuse the selfi.
Please be assured, it wasn’t all hardships!
After Delhi, we went to Vrindavan