Abu Dhabi: The foundation stone for the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi will be laid on April 20, according to Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Sanstha (BAPS) which is building the temple. The ‘Shilanyas ceremony’ will be presided over by the spiritual leader of the BAPS, Mahant Swami Maharaj. The Maharaj will be making his first official visit to the UAE from April 18 to 29. The announcement came as the temple marks a year after the ground-breaking ceremony during which the first rites of Bhumi Pujan were performed at the site in Abu Mureikhah area on February 11, 2018.
Witnessing the ceremony through a live stream, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had revealed a model structure of the temple with seven towers representing the seven emirates in the UAE. Dubbed an icon of tolerance and religious harmony in the UAE, the temple is being built on 13.5 acres of land gifted by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to the Indian community. The UAE government later gifted an equal area of land for building parking facilities in the temple premises.
The complex that is estimated to cost Dh450m is being finalised and now going through approval processes. The pink stone from Rajasthan and marble from Macedonia are scheduled to reach the sculpting sites in the coming months for the craftsmen to begin work. The Shilanyas ceremony in April will observe a sacred Hindu ritual wherein the first foundation stones are sanctified and fixed in the ground as the base of the Mandir. The Mandir’s foundation will then be made on these stones considered sacred. After these ceremonies, construction will begin in this Year of Tolerance, the BAPS said.
Privileges offered for temple ceremony
The Mandir is offering special privileges for attendees of the temple’s foundation stone-laying ceremony on April 20. “On that day, yajmans will participate in a special ceremony. And those who wish to become yajmans can contact [email protected],” the BAPS said in a statement. Yajmans or yajamanas are the ritual patrons, on whose behalf a religious ritual is performed by a priest.
