Akhilesh Yadav inaugurates project to build tallest temple in India

A project for building a 70-storey temple, billed to be the tallest shrine in the world, was inagurated here coinciding with the Holi festival.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Minister of Sate for Parliamentary Affairs Rajeev Shukla participated in the foundation stone laying ceremony of the skyscraper temple 'Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir' today. The project will cost more than Rs 300 crore and ISKCON is hoping to conclude the temple construction within the next five years. 

Calling it a historic moment for Mathura-Vrindavan, Yadav said the project exemplified the goodness of religion. "This is a historic moment coinciding with Holi which inspires us to spread love and happiness. India is known for its culture, plurality and is home to numerous religions. "A moment like this underlines our rich heritage and must encourage all to promote spiritualism," said Yadav in his brief address. He later gave away citations to the founder patrons of the temple.

He also promised to extend full support to the project.

The project was first conceived by the devotees of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) Bangalore. The proposed 'Chandrodaya Mandir', a 213 metres high one of its kind temple is expected to mark Vrindavan, where Hindu deity Krishna is said to have spent his childhood, on the world spiritual map. 

The temple, which will be the tallest shrine in the world when completed, aims to imitate Vrindavan of Krishna's times as spelled out in the ancient texts.

Being built in the heart of Vrindavan, ISKCON will recreate the verdant forests of Braj, where Krishna is said to have engaged in his favourite pastimes, spread over a canvas thirty acres. 

A gurgling Yamuna creek contouring the premises, an indoor Krishna-Radha recreational park, Krishna heritage museum and a viewing tower provide some glimpses to the grand temple. "We are not only trying to create a temple but recreate the times of Krishna where people can be at peace and participate in intellectually stimulating lectures and take part in activities of music and art," Chanchalapati Das, President, Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir said.

One of the main highlights of the temple is a capsule elevator meant to take visitors to the seventieth floor for a vedic cosmology experience through sound, light and dioramic effects. Additionally, the topmost floor of the temple building would also provide visitors a 360 degrees view of the Braj area through telescopes. "Visitors will be able to see the Krishna Janmabhoomi and even the Taj Mahal in Agra through telescopes installed on the seventieth floor when the skies are clear," claimed Das. 

An architectural marvel, the temple will have shades of bluish green and white colours, symbolic of the colours of peacock feathers, spread across its canvas.

Other than the recreational zones, the premises would comprise three temple halls devoted to Radha-Krishna, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Swami Prabhupada, the founder acharya of ISKCON, who first dreamt of a Krishna skyscraper temple. The temple premises will be inclusive of a helipad, housing facilities for devotees and will host a number of cultural festivals throughout the year.