BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Houston
बीएपीएस श्री स्वामिनारायण मंदिर, ह्यूस्टन
📍 Stafford (Houston), Texas
Houston's white marble mandir, built from about 33,000 hand-carved pieces fitted together like a three-dimensional puzzle, with no iron or steel in its structure.
ह्यूस्टन का श्वेत संगमरमर मंदिर — लगभग 33,000 नक्काशीदार टुकड़ों को त्रि-आयामी पहेली की तरह जोड़कर, बिना लोहे या स्टील के बना।
इतिहास History
Houston's devotees began holding assemblies in their homes after Pramukh Swami Maharaj's first visit in 1977, and an earlier mandir opened on Brand Lane in 1988. The foundation stone of the present mandir was laid in September 2000, and the carved stones began to be set in 2002.
The Italian marble and Turkish limestone were carved in India, shipped to Houston in about 150 containers and assembled in 28 months, much of the work by volunteers. After a seven-mile procession of the murtis the day before, Pramukh Swami Maharaj consecrated them and inaugurated the mandir on 25 July 2004.
दर्शन की जानकारी Before you go
- Hours
- Campus open 9 am – 6 pm, closed noon – 4 pm. Darshan about 7:30 – 10:10 am, 11:15 am – noon and 4 – 6 pm; arti at 7:30 am, 11:15 am and 7 pm.
- Dress code
- Neat casual: no tank tops, shorts, or skirts above the knee. Shoes off inside.
- Photos
- No photography or video inside the mandir or exhibition, and no tripods, drones or selfie sticks. Leave bags and cameras in the car.
- Food
- Shayona Cafe 11:30 am – 7:30 pm; gift and sweets shop 10 am – 8 pm.
From the temple’s official website, checked in October 2026. Hours change for festivals and seasons, so confirm on the temple’s site or by phone before you travel. General temple etiquette →
दर्शनीय Don’t miss
- Akshar-Purushottam Maharaj in the central shrine, with Radha-Krishna, Shiva-Parvati, Sita-Ram, Hanuman and Ganapati
- Carved marble ceilings and pillars, and the Understanding Hinduism exhibition
- 22 acres of grounds with a haveli cultural centre
- Shayona Cafe for Gujarati and Indian vegetarian food
उत्सव Festivals
Photo: BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons