Birla Mandir, Jaipur

Birla Mandir, also called the Lakshmi Narayan Temple, is a modern Hindu temple in Jaipur built in 1988 by the Birla family, who presented it to the city. It is dedicated to Vishnu and Lakshmi, whose images inside are carved from a single block of marble.

The temple is made of white marble and blends traditional and modern styles. Three domes top the building, said to stand for the three main gods of Hinduism, and the walls are carved with Hindu symbols and verses from the Gita and the Upanishads. Stained-glass windows on the outer walls show stories of the deities, and a small museum inside displays possessions of the Birla family. The marble is lit after dark, when the temple is especially popular.