Birla Mandir In Jaipur

Location:	In the south of Jaipur, situated just below the famous Moti Dungri Fort
Built by:	B.M. Birla Foundation
Built in:	1988
Dedicated to:	Lord Laxmi Narayan
Highlights:	Rich carvings on pure white marble
How to reach:	One can easily reach Birla Temple from the city by taking local Buses, Rickshaws and Taxis

Birla Temple forms one of the major attractions of Jaipur. Birla Temple of Jaipur looks stunning, when it is brightly lit in the night. Birla Mandir, in pure white marble, dominates the skyline of southern part of Jaipur. The enormous temple was built during the year 1988, by Birla Group of Industries, one of the business tycoons of India. The Temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu (Narayan), the preserver and his consort Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth. Due to this reason, Birla Temple is also known as Laxmi Narayan Temple.

The Birla Mandir is situated just below the renowned Moti Dungri Fort. Built in a contemporary manner, Laxmi Narayan Mandir covers the vast lands of the city of Jaipur. The temple stands erect on a raised platform, at the footsteps of the Moti Dungri Hill. Birla Mandir is constructed in the finest quality of white marble. The three huge domes of the temple represent three different approaches to the religion. The beautiful white marble temple mesmerizes the onlookers, when it glows at night.

The attractive stained windows glass windows of the temple depict scenes from Hindu Mythology. The idols of the temple look so real as if, they would utter a word just now. Amongst all the idols, the marble idol of Ganesha is a masterpiece which looks almost-transparent. The idols of Lord Vishnu and his consort, Lakshmi attract the attention, being made out from one piece of marble. The temple also portrays great historical achievers, philosophers and religious saints such as Socrates, Zarathustra, Christ, Buddha, and Confucius.

The Laxmi Narayan Mandir is a modern architectural marvel, surrounded by lush green gardens. The fascinating exteriors of the temple are carved splendidly with beautiful sculptures based of mythological themes, while the interiors have a large marble panel portraying mythological events. The Birla Temple has a museum too, which showcases the ancestral valuables of the Birla family. Birla Mandir / Laxmi Narayan Temple is a masterpiece of art and tourists should not miss this architectural spiritual heritage on their trip to Jaipur.

Jaipur Information Guide

Jaipur, which has earned the epithet 'Pink City', is the capital of the Indian state of Rajasthan. A historical city, it finds place in most tourist itineraries in India. It is a corner of the famous Golden Triangle tour. The city is like a newly married bride adorned with pink veils. The old city of Jaipur is partially encircled with seven gates the major gates are Chandpol, Sanganeri, and Ajmeri. The 'pink city' label, applies specifically, to the old walled quarter of the Rajasthani capital, while in the northeast of the town. Magnificent palaces and temples, in an assortment of styles, spanning centuries, are scattered throughout the predominantly urban area.

History of Jaipur
Maharaja Jai Singh, a renowned warrior and astronomer, founded the city of Jaipur. In 1727, with Mughal power on the wane, Jai Singh decided to move down from his capital hillside fortress at Amber, to a new site on the plains. A Bengali architect Vidhyadhar Bhattacharya designed the city, using the principles of town planning, as laid down in the Shilpa Shastra, an ancient Hindu treatise on architecture. He built the City Palace, and the largest stone observatory in the world, employing the same principal.

Places To Explore
Jaipur is a tourist's delight. It is an extremely colorful city with pink and orange color buildings with magical appearance. Camel drawn carts are characteristic of Jaipur's passing street scene. Some of the the most magnificent palaces of the city, are the Hawa Mahal and City Palace.

Hawa Mahal
Rajput Raja Sawai Pratap Singh, owes the honor of building this beautiful five story Mahal. Hawa Mahal is not only landmark of the Jaipur city but it is also an important tourist spot of India. Hawa Mahal is a semi octagonal building having 152 windows, which makes the building unique from the architectural point of view. Building is an excellent example of Rajput's royal style of architecture. The building was built to allow royal ladies to look at the processions and the city from the Zenana Women Quarters. The mahal presents an enormous view of the city from its windows. It is part of the City Palace complex and has a small archaeological museum on the same site. The museum has a display named “Jaipur past and present, which shows us the royal history of the city.

City Palace
City Palace presents a amalgam of Rajput and Mughal architecture. City palace is the home of seven storeyed Chandra Mahal. Maharaja Jai Singh II, built the palace. City Palace complex, is a home to several ornamented building like Chandra Mahal, Mubarak Mahal, Badal Mahal, Shri Govind Dev Temple and the City Palace museums. Diwan-E-Am (Hall of public audience) has intricate decorations and collection of manuscripts, Diwan-E-Khas (Hall of private audience) has a marble pawed gallery. Mubarak Mahal has a rich collection of costumes and textiles. There is a Clock Tower near Mubarak Mahal. Sileh Khana has a collection of armory and weapons.

Jantar Mantar
Jantar Mantar was originally built as a collection of architectural astronomical instruments. It was built in 18th century by Maharaja Sakai Jai Singh II. Maharaja was fond of astronomy, the observatory was the result of his passion for astrology. The masonry instruments in the Jantar Mantar were used to study the movement of constellations and stars in the sky. Splendid sun-dial is still able to provide accurate time.

Central Museum
Central musem is located in the Ram Niwas garden in the south of the old city. The museum houses of the portraits of the previous Jaipur Maharajas. The royal ambience of the ancient palaces can easily be experienced here. A large collection of costumes, and woodwork from various parts of the state, and other miniatures and artworks can also be enjoyed here. There is also a zoo, and an art gallery, located in the Gardens of the central museum.

Around Jaipur
A visit to Jaipur is unending journey of culture and ancient heritage of India. There are many nearby attractions from Jaipur. About 11 kilometres out of Jaipur, Amber was once the ancient capital of Rajasthan. The Amber Fort is a stunning piece of Rajput architecture.

The Cenotaphs of the royal family are at Gaitore, there are cenotaphs of the royal family of Jaipur. Opposite the Cenotaphs, is the Jal Mahal Palace, in the middle of a lake, and reached by a causeway. Nahargarh Fort is 6.5 km away, and is floodlit at night. Jaigarh Fort, built in 1726, is within walking distance of Amber. Some other attractions for the tourists in Jaipur are, the Temple of Sun God at Galta, Sisodia Rani palace and gardens, Vidyadhar's garden, Balaji and Sanganer.

How to Get There
By Air: Jaipur is connected to Delhi, Mumbai, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Aurangabad, Calcutta and Varanasi by domestic flights.

By Bus: Jaipur can be accessed from all the major places in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Delhi and Mumbai by bus. Luxury buses are also available, to make your journey comfortable.

By Train: Trains are best means of transport to enjoy the journey as sight seeing is freely and easily available by train. Jaipur can easily accessed by train from any part of India.