Bihar to Get World's Largest Hindu Temple

The much-awaited 'bhumi-pujan' (foundation laying) for what would become the world's largest Hindu temple was done in Bihar's Vaishali district on Monday, March 6, 2012.

The temple, to be built at a cost of Rs 100 crore would be a recreation of the world-famous Angkor Wat temple complex in Cambodia.

"Our thrust is to recreate the Angkor Wat temple on a sprawling 30 acres of land surrounded by greenery," Acharya Kishore Kunal, a retired IPS officer and the man behind the mega project said.

According to him, the five-storied and 222-feet tall temple will be the tallest structure of its kind in the world.

"Land worth around Rs 30 crore has already been acquired for the purpose from locals," Kunal, secretary of the cash-rich Mahavir Mandir Trust, which is building the temple, said.

The proposed temple will be named 'Virat Angkor Wat Ram Mandir' and it will house the idols of Radha-Krishna, Shiva-Parvati, Ganesh, Surya, Vishnu and the 'Dashavataram,' the ten incarnations of Vishnu.

It will take upto five years to construct the temple and another five years to give the final finishing touches to it.

The Angkor Wat temple was built in Cambodia in the 12th century during the rule of the then Cambodian king Suryavarman (1141-1152 AD). It is a listed UNESCO-world heritage site.