Other Information
Besides the idols installed by Swaminarayan himself, the temple is a place of many memories of Swaminarayan. On the path of the worship circuit of the inner temple, there is the idol of Ghanshyam facing northward. This prasadi temple has prasadi items of Swaminarayan displayed in a museum at the temple.
On the southern side of the temple, there is a big neem tree and the chamber of Vasudeva where Swaminarayan gave several discourses which are recorded in the Vachanamrut scripture. The court of Dada Khachar has been preserved in its original form.
On the backside, there is the Akshar Ordi temple and Gangajalio well. Lakshmiwadi (place of cremation of Swaminarayan) is situated a little away from the town. At Lakshmiwadi, a single dome temple has been constructed at the place of the funeral rituals of Swaminarayan's mortal remains. A little ahead, there is one canopy where Swaminarayan used to sit and deliver the discourses, and just a little ahead, there is the room of Nishkulanand Swami, where he placed the palanquin prepared by him for Swaminarayan's last journey. A neem tree faces this place, and on its western side, there is one more canopy where Swaminarayan celebrated ‘Sharadotsava.’
Swaminarayan and his saints used to take a bath in the Ghela River. This river flows in the south side of the temple. There are prasadi river-beds - Narayan Dharo and Sahasra Dharo which Swaminarayan visited frequently. There are small temples of Neelkanth and Hanuman on the bank of the river.
In May 2012, the temple's spires were plated with gold, making it the first temple in Gujarat to have golden spires. This exercise cost the temple 21 crore (US$3.8 million).
Read more about this topic: Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Gadhada
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