War Over the World's Largest Hindu Shrine


Upon laying the foundation stone, Acharya Kishore Kunal, Chairman of the Bihar Mahavir Mandir Trust, said “The selected site for construction of the temple has mythological significance as it is believed that the deities Ram, Lakshman and Vishvamitra had visited the village and were welcomed by King Sumati of the Vaishali kingdom.”

"It will be the world's largest Hindu temple ….bigger in size, shape and height than the Angkor Wat of Cambodia," Kunal was quoted by BBC. "It will be known as Virat Angkor Wat Ram temple but will also house other Hindu deities like Radha-Krishna, Shiv-Parvati, Ganesh, Surya and 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu", he said.

Construction of this giant project is scheduled to commence next month. While the work of the proposed 222ft high main structure would take five years to finish, it would take a decade to complete the entire project.

King Suryavarman II is credited with the construction of Angkor Wat who made it his state temple and capital city in the 12th century. The 82 hectares wide temple complex was dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu, but was later transformed into a Buddhist worship centre after Cambodia's monarchy converted to Buddhism.