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  #1  
Old Posted Oct 3, 2007, 7:21 PM
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ATLANTA: Amazing new Hindu Temple

BAPS Shree Swaminarayan Mandir
This incredible structure is located in the northeast suburb of Lilburn and was just recently dedicated. It is the 5th (and largest) traditional Hindu Temple outside of India and was built using guidelines from Scriptures that date back 5,000 years.
No steel or metal was used in the construction. Each piece was hand carved in India, numbered and then shipped to Atlanta where it was put together like a jigsaw puzzle.

Just the facts:
$19 million to construct, paid by donations with no debt.
32,000 square feet on a 30 acre lot
75 foot tall towers. The red/white striped flags ward off evil.
1.3 million man hours
4,500 tons of Italian Carrera marble
4,300 tons of Turkish limestone
3,500 tons of Indian pink sandstone

As stunning as the exterior is, the interior (where pictures are not allowed) is even more breathtaking...you are completely surrounded by these intricate carvings.





























Although the main structure appeared to be completed, the plazas and some of the finishes are still under construction.


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Old Posted Oct 3, 2007, 7:22 PM
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Wow! Very detailed architecture!
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  #3  
Old Posted Oct 3, 2007, 7:31 PM
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BAPS built a nearly identical temple in Toronto. There's also another one in London. All three claim to be the largest outside India.

Toronto:


http://blog.xnepali.com/2007/07/23/s...le-in-toronto/

London:


http://www.flickr.com/photos/dgeezer/221413226
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Old Posted Oct 3, 2007, 7:41 PM
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I thought the one in Neasden, North London was the largest outside India - or at least it was at the time.

I'm pretty sure it can't be right to say the one in Atlanta is only the 5th trad Hindu temple outside India either - as there are hundreds of thousands of Hindus in the UK there are, obviously, many, many temples here as well...
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Old Posted Oct 3, 2007, 9:05 PM
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The sources I used for the figures included the Atlanta Journal Constitution, New York Times, Intl Herald Tribune, Wikipedia, Hindu-Student Society and Hindu-blog.com. The 'facts' vary with several claiming it to be the largest and some "one of the largest". When all the dust settles, I guess it really doesn't matter, its still a structure that the Hindu community should be proud of for years!.
The Toronto Temple looks strikingly similar...thanks for the pictures.
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Old Posted Oct 4, 2007, 1:18 AM
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i absolutely love this temple. such a stunning piece for the atlanta area.
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Old Posted Oct 4, 2007, 3:28 AM
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Gorgeous! The largest Hindu Temple outside India is near Elgin, IL. And although I understand completely, I was disappointed that they did not allow photography inside the Temple, which was even more breathtaking than the outside.
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Old Posted Oct 4, 2007, 3:35 AM
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Beautiful structures. Austin has one south of town, but it's hardly as nice as those.

http://www.barsanadham.org/
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Old Posted Oct 4, 2007, 5:41 AM
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Amazing!

I've read in various places that the intricate stonework on various classical buildings, as well as ornate early 20th century buildings (such as the Woolworth Building) could not be created today, at any price, due to a lack of knowledge about such craftsmanship. It's nice to see that is not true. This is something that nobody should mind seeing outsourced to India.
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Old Posted Oct 4, 2007, 7:05 AM
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Nice!
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