Sri Lakshmi Narayani Golden Temple
SriPuram(Tamil:ஸ்ரீபுரம்) is Spritual 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.
Construction
The temple is located on a sprawling 100 acres of land and has been constructed by Vellore-based sri Narayani Peetam, 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 al 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.
Location
The Temple is located at about 6Kms from the town of Vellore in Tamil Nadu,India in a place called Thirumalaikodi.It is on the way to Anaicut from Vellore.There is a Narayani Hospital which is also run by the Peedam.
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 golden crown with feet of the lord engraved on it, is made of solid gold weighing 1 kg.