The Golden Temple Vellore complex within the Thirupuram spiritual park is situated at the foot of a small chain of green hills in Thirumalaikodi (or simply Malaikodi) Vellore in Tamil Nadu, India. It is located 120 km from Tirupati, 145 km from Chennai, 160 km from Pondicherry and 200 km from Bangalore. The Maha Kumbhabhishekam or consecration of the temple and its main deity, Sri Lakshmi Narayani or Maha Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, took place on August 24, 2007, and can be visited by devotees of all religions and origins.
Background
The outstanding feature of ‘Thirupuram’ is the Lakshmi Narayani temple whose Vimanam and Ardha Mandapam are covered in pure gold, and it houses the deity Sri Lakshmi Narayani (consort / wife of Vishnu Narayana). The temple is located on 100 acres of land and has been built by the Vellore-based charity Sri Narayani Peedam, headed by its spiritual leader Sri Sakthi Amma, also known as ‘Narayani Amma’.
Design
The temple, with its gold covering, has intricate work done by artisans who specialize in temple art using gold. Every detail was created manually, including converting the gold bars to gold foil and then mounting the foils to copper. A 9-10 layer gold foil has been mounted on the engraved copper plates. Every detail of the temple art has a meaning from the Vedas.
Sripuram’s design features a star-shaped path (Sri chakra), set amidst the lush green landscape, with a length of more than 1.8 km. As one walks this ‘star path’ to reach the temple in the middle, one can also read various spiritual messages, such as the gift of human birth itself and the value of spirituality, along the way.
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