BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, in Robbinsville, New Jersey in United States, is a shrine to Swaminarayan and Gunatitanand Swami, worshipped together as Akshar-Purushottam Maharaj. It is also known as BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham, Akshardham New Jersey.
It is widely reported in the press as the largest Hindu temple outside India, and BAPS and multiple news outlets describe it as the largest Hindu mandir in the Western Hemisphere. The main structure stands 191 feet tall, 255 feet long and 345 feet wide, with a central spire rising 213 feet above ground. First proposed by Pramukh Swami Maharaj in 1997, the mandir itself was built between 2010 and 2014, with its murtis consecrated in August 2014.
United States carries a distinct temple identity of its own: Home to the largest Hindu temple outside India, alongside decades-old community mandirs built by generations of the diaspora.
Darshan hours and daily worship
| Session | Timing (as published) |
|---|---|
| Morning | 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM, darshan closed 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM |
| Evening | Mon to Fri 4:00 PM to 7:30 PM, Sat/Sun/federal holidays 3:30 PM to 7:30 PM, darshan closed 6:15 PM to 7:00 PM |
Closed all day Tuesday. On weekends, federal holidays, and select Hindu festivals, visitors must book a reservation time slot and are admitted 30 minutes before to 30 minutes after that slot.
Festivals and special-day timings
Regular darshan hours are usually extended, or set aside entirely, on these dates.
| Festival | Period | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Diwali and Annakut Celebration | Diwali season, typically October or November | A multi day celebration featuring an Annakut, a mountain of hundreds of vegetarian dishes offered by devotees, a maha aarti, rangoli displays and a fireworks show, drawing thousands of visitors from the tri-state area. |
History and architecture
Architecture
Shikharbaddha mandir built in the Nagaradi style per Vedic Shilpa Shastra guidelines, using Italian Carrara marble, Indian pink stone and limestone carved in Rajasthan and assembled on site. The surrounding Akshardham complex adds nine shikhars, nine domes, 548 carved marble pillars and over 10,000 carved statues and motifs, using Greek, Turkish and Italian marble, Rajasthan sandstone, Indian granite, and Bulgarian and Turkish limestone.
History
First proposed by Pramukh Swami Maharaj in 1997, the mandir itself was built between 2010 and 2014, with its murtis consecrated in August 2014. The surrounding Akshardham complex was then built between 2015 and 2023 with the help of over 12,500 volunteers who carved roughly 2 million cubic feet of stone. Mahant Swami Maharaj formally inaugurated the completed Akshardham complex on October 8, 2023, following a three month long 'Festival of Inspirations' community celebration.
Planning your visit
How to reach
Address: 112 N Main Street, Robbinsville, NJ 08561. Public bus service is available via OurBus; on site parking includes handicapped spaces subject to availability.
Where this information comes from
Confidence: High. Timings, history and architecture verified against the official BAPS visitor info page and Wikipedia. The 'largest Hindu temple outside India' framing is a widely repeated media characterization rather than an independently audited ranking, so it is phrased that way rather than stated as verified fact.