Sripuram
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| Sripuram Narayani Temple[1] | |
| Building information | |
|---|---|
| Town | Vellore |
| Country | India |
| Construction start date | 2001 AD |
| Completion date | August 24th, 2007 AD |
| Cost | 300 Crores /160 million US Dollars |
GOLDEN TEMPLE (Sri Puram)(Tamil:ஸ்ரீபுரம்) is a Spiritual park situated at the foot of a small range of green hills in a place known as "Malaikodi" near the town of Vellore in Tamil nadu,India.
The salient Feature of Sripuram is the Lakshmi Narayani temple or Mahalakshmi temple whose 'Vimanam’ and ‘Ardha Mandapam’ have been coated with gold both in the interior and exterior.
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[edit] Construction
The temple is located on a sprawling 100 acres of land and has been constructed by Vellore-based Sri Narayani Peedam, headed by spiritual leader Sri Sakthi Amma. The temple, covering 55,000 sq ft, has intricate carvings and sculptures in gold. The lighting is arranged in such a way that the temple glitters even during night.
About 400 goldsmiths and coppersmiths, including craftsmen from Tirumala - Tirupati Devasthanam, have completed the architectural marvel in gold in six years.
The approximate cost of the temple is Rs 600 crore. About 1.5 tonnes of Gold has been used in the construction of the Temple. According to official sources, the gold bars were purchased through Reserve Bank of India in "a transparent manner".The Money for the temple was collected in the form of donations from the devotees of Narayani peetam whose branches are all around the world. The consecration of the Temple was carried out on August 24th, 2007 in the presence of 30,000 devotees.
The Temple was constructed with the temple structure made out in copper base with engravings and etchings before the gold, beaten into nine layers of foils, was draped around it. The sanctum sanctorum will hold the deity of Mahalakshmi made of stone granite, but covered with gold adornments.
The Temple has a very tight security and devotees aren't allowed to carry mobile phones or cameras into the temple. Mobiles found with devotee attract fines.
[edit] Salient Features
The Sripuram is the biggest structure made out of gold. It is bigger than the Golden temple in Amritsar.According to official sources the cost incurred in ripping of gold from the walls will more than buying it.Even the Sadari, a crown with feet of the lord engraved on it, is made of solid gold weighing 1 kg.
The outer pathway of the temple is made out in the shape of a Star. The walls of the pathway have inscriptions of teachings of Sakthi amma,Gita,Bible and Quran.People from all religions are allowed to enter the Site. All people have to go through the Star shaped pathway to reach the sanctum.
The Inner praharam of the temple resembles the circular structure of the Parliament of India.
[edit] A Tourist's View
The temple is appropriately called a "Spiritual Center" conceptually similar to "Prasanti Nilayam" located in Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh. The difference being the "Goddess Lakshmi" and the "Golden Temple". The center also participates in several charitable activities primarily involving healthcare.
Before visiting, it is important to have a reasonable frame of mind that allows you to "Waaaalk" a long distance to visit the deity. A special (Divya Darshanam) entrance fee (Rs. 100/) and a wheel chair facility for elders (Rs. 50/) is provided to the piligrims. Despite the fee, YOU MUST WALK A LONG DISTANCE (~2-3 km). Unfortunately, on a hot climate day, the walk seemed a bit longer. So the best season to visit the place may be during the winter months and or early hours of the day. The center also provides parking, locker facility or shoe rack facility with a small fee.
The temple is surrounded by a pool of water. Similar to the concept of Seeing/Throwing coins in the fountains in America, people/devotees throw coins in the pool of water. Some diehard devotees are also leaving their paper currency and their visiting cards in the pool of water.
I didn't feel too much happy about presence of Narayani Amma's photo accompanying every photo that contains Goddess Lakshmi. Probably a life size independent picture of Narayani Amma may be a soothing option for people like me who strongly believe in Indian Spirituality.
Finally the spiritual center may be based on this philosophy. "GO(L)D is great and WALKING keeps you healthy". Philosophically speaking there can be "No Gain Without Pain". And truly Goddess Lakshmi and Money are inseparable from the Indian Psyche, whether it is for religious or business purpose.
At the end of the day I didn't get that "devotional state of mind" I usually get while visiting numerous other temples small or big.
[edit] Location
The temple is on the southern end of the city of Vellore, in the village of Tirumalaikodi. It is located on the way to Anaicut, on Usoor Road. The pincode is: 632055 and is located in Vellore District.
The following are rough distances between Sripuram temple and places within Vellore
| Sl no | Place | Distance (in km) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Katpadi Junction Railway Station | 18 |
| 2 | Vellore Cantonment Railway Station | 8 |
| 3 | Vellore Town Railway Station | 10 |
| 4 | Town Bus Stand (Old bus stand) | 10 |
| 5 | Central Bus Stand (New bus stand) | 12 |
| 6 | Bangalore Road (Road leading to NH-46) | 10 |
| 7 | CMC Hospital | 10.5 |
| 8 | Thorappadi | 6 |
| 9 | Bagayam | 9 |
| 10 | Vellore Government Hospital at Adukkamparai | 14 |
| 11 | VIT | 19 |
| 12 | Long Bazaar (town centre) | 8 |
| 13 | Government Pentland Hospital | 9 |
[edit] How to get there
Vellore is well connected by road, rail and air.
By Road
Vellore is well connected by road. The central bus stand is 12km from the temple. Buses to Chennai, Bangalore,Coimbatore, Tirupathi,Erode, Trichy,Madurai and Tuticorin are frequent. TNSTC and SETC operate buses between Vellore and other major towns and cities. Private operators such as KPN and Sri Renugambal travels too operate buses to major towns and cities.
An excellent (Toll Road) highway connects Vellore to Bangalore. You can be assured of quick travel. However it connects via Hosur Road/ Electronic City. The traffic snarls from that point.
The town bus stand is located 10km from the main temple. Frequent buses to the temple are available. Route 8 and 8 series ply to Sripuram from the town bus stand. Frequent buses ply between the central bus stand and town bus stand, routes such as 1,1G,2,2A and 2G can be taken to reach town bus stand.
By Rail
Vellore's main railway station is at Katpadi, at the northern end of the city. Katpadi junction is 18km from Sripuram. Two new railway stations (which will be opened by April 2008), namely, Vellore town and Vellore Cantonment is nearing completion. Cantonment is 8km from Sripuram while Town railway station is 10km from Sripuram. More direct trains are expected to be scheduled to Cantonment and Town railway stations.
By Air
Vellore has an idle airport, at Abdullapuram, which is expected to be operational by 2009. By 2009 the airport is expected to be upgraded to handle 45 seater ATR aircraft.
The nearest Airport is Chennai (130km), Tirupathi (110km) and Bangalore (220km).
Temple timings
The timings of entry into the premises is strictly between 07:00 AM to 09:00 PM
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- The official website of sripuram which has some images.
- A short description of the temple
- A short article
- A short article in THE HINDU
- Wikimapia Page showing temple
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