Foundation stone laid for first traditional Hindu temple in UAE

The foundation stone for the first traditional Hindu Temple was laid in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

The 'Shilanyas Vidhi' ceremony was presided over by Mahant Swami Maharaj, the spiritual leader of BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha - the religious and social organisation building the temple.

The ceremony started with rituals led by Pujya Ishwarcharan Swami. Sanskrit verses filled the air as priests described to devotees how each ritual had to be conducted.

Community leaders and devotees followed the directions from their respective seated areas which had a tray placed in front of them containing a brick, rice, flowers, nuts etc.

Once the ceremonies were complete, between 10.50am and 10.55am the foundation stone was laid by priests and BAPS Hindu Mandir committee head and community leader B.R. Shetty. There were some 50 priests who had come from India and were part of the ceremonies.

The temple will be built in phases with all pink stones and marbles being transported from Indian state of Rajasthan to the UAE capital.

The stones of the temple will be hand-carved by artisans in India and then transported to Abu Dhabi. And once completed, this will be the first traditional Hindu stone temple in the Middle East.

Khaleej Times