Viraat Ramayan Mandir

The project is being developed by the Mahavir Mandir Trust, Patna, and is planned to be one of the largest Hindu temple complexes in the world.

The temple complex is dedicated primarily to Lord Rama and Sita, and is inspired by the architectural style of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. It is designed to include multiple shrines and is expected to be completed by 2026. . It is being built with a cost of 500 crore rupees and is planned to be 123 metres (405 ft) high, double height of Angkor Wat Hindu Temple in Cambodia, and to have a hall that seats 20,000 people.

Virat Ramayan Mandir is completely funded by the Mahavir Mandir Patna Trust, Tata is the construction company which has subcontracted the Suntech Infra Solutions for the civil works which has previously undertaken other successful projects in Bihar such as NTPC, Fertilizer and IOCL Barauni. The construction of the temple, scheduled to commence in June 2015, was delayed due to Cambodia government's protest to the government of India however the issue was successfully resolved. The expected completion date is 2026.

Planning

The temple is inspired from Angkor Wat of Cambodia and Ramanathaswamy Temple of Rameshvaram and Meenakshi Sundareshvara Temple of Madurai in Tamilnadu. The temple will comprise 18 shrines for various Hindu deities; Rama and Sita being the principal deities. The plan is spearheaded by Acharya Kishore Kunal.

Patna based, Mahavira Mandiram Trust first proposed the project, as Virata Angkor Wat Rama Sita Mandiram in Hajipur modeled on Angkor Wat, the twin city of Patna. The temple trust acquired 65 hectares (161 acres) of land in East Champaran district and therefore the earlier site of Hajipur had been abandoned.

In August 2012, following the concerns raised by the Cambodian Government, the Indian Government requested the Mahavira Mandiram Trust to not build exact replica of Angkor Wat as it will collapse due to the structural weakness. Consequently, the trust changed the name from the Virata Angkor Wat Rama Sita Temple to the Virata Ramayana Mandiram. On November 13, 2013, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar unveiled a model of the temple.