The second phase of construction of the “world’s largest Ramayan temple” began in East Champaran district of Bihar of Tuesday.
The Viraat Ramayan Mandir, once complete, will be three times bigger than the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Being built at a cost of ₹500 crore, the temple will also have the world’s largest shivling. Thearchitecture of the temple is inspired by the Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the Ramanathaswamy temple at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, and the Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple in Madurai.
The construction of the three-storey temple, spread over an area of 3.76 lakh sq.ft., began in June 2023 and is expected to be complete in 2025.
The temple will house a 33-foot-tallShivling in the arghya (sanctum sanctorum). There will be 22 sanctum sanctorum for different deities in the temple complex.
The first phase of construction was completed in 10 months. The second phase will include the construction up to the plinth level, which will go up to a height of about 26 feet from the ground level, said Acharya Kishore Kunal of the Patna-based Mahavir Mandir Trust, which has borne all expenses of the construction of Viraat Ramayan temple from its internal resources.
There will be 22 smaller temples in the complex dedicated to the important deities mentioned in the Ramayana.
In the third phase, the construction of shikhars (spires) and final finishing touches of the entire temple will be done. There will be a total of 12 shikhars in the temple, with the main shikhar being 270 feet tall.
“The most difficult task of the second phase of construction of the temple is to install the world’s largest Shivling in the arghya,” said Acharya Kishore Kunal.
With a length of 1080 feet, the Viraat Ramayan Mandir will be three times bigger than the Ram Temple in Ayodhya (360 feet). Similarly, the Ayodhya temple’s height is 161 feet, while the Viraat Ramayan Temple will have height of 270 feet.
