Shri Swaminarayan Mandir is a part of the Swaminarayan Sampraday. This temple is the oldest in this area and was built over a century ago. The main deities that are enshrined here are Laxmi Narayan Dev and Ghanashyam Maharaj.

History

Shri Swaminarayan Mandir was originally built by Seth Rancchoddas Pranjivandas in 1868 AD. He built it by breaking down his own bungalow and replacing it with the first ever Swaminarayan temple in Bombay (present day Mumbai). On the auspicious day of Vaishakh Shudh Ekadashi, he had the idols of Shree Golok Vihari Maharaj and Shree Harikrishna Maharaj installed in the temple by Acharya Maharaj Shree Bhagwatprasadji. For the day to day running of the temple and its maintenance, he setup a Trust with all his life savings.

As per historical records, the present day temple was built by a devout follower of Shri Swaminarayan named Kurumsey Damjee. His close friend, Shree Mathurdas Vaishnav too contributed to the rebuilding of the temple by giving away Rs. 25,000. The idols of Ghanashyam Maharaj and Lakshminarayan Dev were installed in the temple on the occasion of Vaishakh Shukla Dwadashi in the year 1903 by Acharya Maharaj Shri Lakshmiprasadji Maharaj.

Architecture

This temple has a beautifully carved façade that stands out from its surroundings. Built as a tri-spire structure, Swaminarayan Temple has an audience hall (Sabha Mandap) built at a higher level. This hall is used to conduct religious discourses.

There is also a huge dome supported by 54 pillars and has intricate paintings depicting Lord Krishna’s pastimes (Krishnalila). On either sides of the hall are shrines dedicated to Lord Ganesha and Hanuman. The temple has three primary shrines that house the idols of Harikrishna Maharaj, Radha and Golok Vihari on the eastern side. The central shrine is dedicated to idols of Lakshminarayan Dev and Ghanashyam Maharaj. On the west is a shrine that is used as a resting place of the idols at the end of each day.

Festivities

Many of the major Hindu festivals are celebrated with aplomb at the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir. A few among them are Ram Navami, Mahashivratri, Swaminarayan Jayanti, Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi and Vaman Jayanti. As per the Hindu almanac, Hindola festival is celebrated here during the month of Shravan.