Mayapur (West Bengal): West Bengal is all set to get one of the largest Hindu temples in the world as the under-construction Vedic Planetarium in West Bengal's Mayapur, the headquarters of ISKCON, is expected to be completed by 2024.
With a height of about 113 meters and a capacity of accommodating 10,000 devotees the massive structure is set to tower over other temples in terms of sheer size. The ambitious project was first conceived in 1976 by the founder of ISKCON Sri Prabhupada. His dream was to set up a building next to the ISKCON temple where Vedic knowledge and science would be practiced.
Located around 130 km from Kolkata, the temple will also have a massive and detailed display of how the world was created as per Vedic knowledge. The construction work of the massive temple started on February 14, 2010.
Initially, the Vedic Planetarium, which looks similar to the US Capitol Building, was scheduled to be completed in 2016. But the construction got delayed due to several reasons. The Covid-19 pandemic further delayed the project.
As of now, the Vedic Planetarium is scheduled to be completed by 2024. "Sri Prabhupada's dream was to build the world's largest Hindu temple in Mayapur. The work is already underway. With the help of devotees, the temple will be completed and inaugurated in 2024. People from all over the world will come here in search of peace," Mayapur ISKCON Temple's Public Relations Officer, Rasik Gaurang Das told ETV Bharat.
It is learned that Alfred Ford of Ford Motors who joined ISKCON in 1975 and was subsequently renamed Ambarish Das has contributed $30 million to the project.
