Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Toronto

Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Toronto is Canada’s first hand-carved stone and marble Hindu temple built according to ancient Indian principles, in a tradition that dates back many millennia. It’s a stunning structure that evokes the mystical beauty and spiritual essence of India. Carved entirely of white marble and limestone, the mandir (a Hindu place of worship) was designed using traditional engineering principles without the use of steel or nails, or reinforcement from ferrous material, even in the foundations. The temple was made by about 1800 craftsmen in Rajasthan, India, and then shipped to Canada. The 24000 hand-carved stone pieces were reassembled by 101 volunteer artisans from India, who lived on the construction site for two years. Using building techniques that have been handed down from generation to generation by craftsmen in India, they assembled more than 95000 cubic feet of stone that included 2638 tonnes of Turkish limestone, 2260 tonnes of Carrara marble, and 1484 tonnes of Indian pink sandstone. The stone was shipped to Canada in containers weighing up to 5.6 tonnes. The temple is a meditation zone, requiring visitors to maintain silence.