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Lakshmi
Narayan Mandir is located near Connaught
Place area of New Delhi. It was built by
Raja BALDEV Das in 1938. Populairement known
as Birla Mandir, it is dedicated to the
goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity
and wealth and her husband, Lord Vishnu.
Built in the style Orissan, its walls are
decorated with various symbols and inscriptions
Hindu holy books of the Gita and the Upanishads.
The temple was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi
and took six years. According to the conditions
imposed by him, people of all castes, including
the untouchables, were allowed to visit
the temple. It is maintained by the Birla
family, the famous industrialists of India.
The highest tower in the
temple is 165 feet high. The temple complex
also Geeta Bhavan, a room decorated with
paintings representing the Indian mythology
and a Buddhist temple, with frescoes on
the life of Buddha. The walls of the whole
complex of exhibition of paintings of artists
from Jaipur. An artificial mountain landscape,
with fountains and waterfalls, was created
as the backdrop of the temple. The festival
of Janmashtami is celebrated with particular
fervour here. The white marble and red sandstone
temple has several 'swastikas 'screen. There
are shrines of other deities in the complex,
such as those dedicated to the goddess Durga
and Lord Shiva.
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