It is just not possible to talk about Gujarat and not mentioning the great Swaminarayan Temple. Wherever you find Gujaratis you do find Swaminarayan temple nearby around the world and if we are in the Gujarat then no doubt we will certainly find the holy shrine of Gujartis known as Swaminarayan temple. World’s first Swaminarayan temple is situated at Kalupur in Ahmedabad city. The first sight of this temple is so graceful that one can’t wait to explore the interiors of the temple. The beautiful carvings on wood are outstanding and give a distinctive look to the Swaminarayan temple. The temple was created as per the instructions of the founder of Swaminarayan Sampraday, Swaminarayan. This temple is quite significant from historical as well as cultural point of view not only in Gujrat but in India.This huge temple is built on the land which was gifted by British Imperial Government in India to Swaminarayan and then the temple construction started under the close supervision of Swaminarayan. At the time of installation of idols in the temple a huge celebration was held and it was attended by at least fifty thousand devotees from around the country. This beautiful shrine represents a mixture of local, regional, Mughal architecture as well as British architecture of design. The vibrant colours used to paint are the speciality of all Swaminarayan temples around the world. The main temple is standing behind a colourful fully carved gate with impressive sculptors. There are multiple domes among which some are heighted while others are low rise and round but all of them represent attractive carvings reflecting Indian culture. The entire temple is built according to the scriptural norms in which auspicious symbols, religious icons and sculptural arts are used.The idols in the temple are of Narnarayan Dev in centre, Radhakrishna Dev at the right side while idols of Dharmadev, Bhaktimata, Harikrishna are there on the left side of the central temple. The very impressive statues of Deities are created using stones from the mines of Himmatnagar and Dhrangadhra. They are made in Dungarpur. Another attraction in this temple is the clothes the idols wear. These dresses are so bright, colourful, lavish and pretty that you never want to blink your eyes when you are in front of them. One very interesting thing about the dresses here is that the dresses of Narnarayan Dev and Radhakrishna are changed seven times a day and these dresses never repeated.If you want to know the popularity of this temple then visit the temple on the day after Diwali when more than a million devotees come here. the rich carvings on Barma teak, lavishly designed columns, brackets, arches, galleries, domes and brightly painted walls gives you an extraordinary feeling of standing in heaven on Earth. There are green lawns just outside the temple to enhance the beauty of the place. The temple design depicts the Haveli style. It also has nine tombs. These are called Nau Gaz Pir (Nine Yard Saints) located at the south side of the temple. The premises has a fully air conditioned multi – story guesthouse, fully equipped medical clinic, Akshar Bhavan, RangMahal, Temple for Women in the West, Haveli (mansion) in the North and East. It is really a place worth exploring to indulge in socio religious history of Gujrat.Ruchi Mahajan