BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir

Houston

The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir of Houston, Texas is a traditional Hindu temple built by the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha. It is in unincorporated Fort Bend County, Texas, within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Stafford and with a Stafford mailing address. The BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, which is headed by Mahant Swami Maharaj, is a denomination of the Swaminarayan branch of Hinduism. It consists of a 11,500-square-foot, 73-foot tall open-air temple and a 25,620-square-foot surrounding deck. By July 2004 the cost to build the temple was $7 million at that time. The temple materials were carved out of Italian marble and Turkish limestone by 3,000 craftsmen in various parts of India. The pieces were shipped to Houston, and construction began in March 2002. 175 volunteers, including some individuals resident in India, came to the Houston area to help build the temple. Most of the labor was donated. Up until the opening, some finishing touches to the structure were made. The marble and limestone add up to 33,000 pieces. The mandir was built in 28 months. The mandir is the largest of its kind in Texas and was constructed according to guidelines outlined in ancient Hindu scriptures.