Sri Lakshmi Golden Temple, India

The Golden Temple Vellore complex, which is part of the Thirupuram spiritual park, is located at Thirumalaikodi (or simply Malaikodi) Vellore in Tamil Nadu, India, at the foot of a short range of green hills. Tirupati is 120 kilometers away, Chennai is 145 kilometers away, Pondicherry is 160 kilometers away, and Bengaluru is 200 kilometers away. The temple and its principal deity, Sri Lakshmi Narayani or Maha Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, were consecrated on August 24, 2007, and worshippers of all faiths and backgrounds are welcome to come.

The Lakshmi Narayani temple, whose Vimanam and Ardha Mandapam are plated in pure gold and houses the deity Sri Lakshmi Narayani (female consort/wife of Vishnu Narayana), is the most prominent feature of 'Thirupuram.' The temple was built on 100 acres of land by the Vellore-based charitable foundation Sri Narayani Peedam, which is led by spiritual leader Sri Sakthi Amma, popularly known as 'Narayani Amma.'

The elaborate work on the temple's gold covering was done by experts who specialize in temple art employing gold. Every detail, including transforming gold bars into gold foils and then mounting the foils on copper, was done by hand. The etched copper plates have been covered in gold foil ranging from 9 to 10 layers thick. Every single detail in the temple art has significance from the Vedas.

Sripuram's architecture includes a star-shaped path (Sri chakra) that runs for almost 1.8 kilometers through the lovely green countryside. One can read numerous spiritual messages along the route as one walks down this 'starpath' to reach the temple in the middle, such as the gift of human birth itself and the worth of spirituality.

Location: Thirumalaikodi, Vellore District