Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Bhuleshwar

Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in the Bhuleshwar area is the oldest Swaminarayan temple in Mumbai and comes under the Laxminarayan Dev Gadi of Vadtal. Its story begins in 1868, when Ranchhoddas Pranjeevandas pulled down his own house and rebuilt it as the city's first Swaminarayan temple. The present three-spired shikharbandh building followed in 1903, with support from the devotee Rao Bahadur Sheth Curumsey Damjee. Demand for flowers from this and neighbouring temples gave rise to Bhuleshwar's Phool Galli flower market.

An elaborately carved frontage leads up 25 steps to the sabhamandap, flanked by shrines to Ganesha and Hanuman. Above the hall, a dome painted with scenes of Krishna's lila rests on 54 pillars. Of the three main shrines, the eastern one holds Hari Krishna Maharaj, Gaulokvihari and Radhika, the central one Ghanshyam Maharaj, Narayan and Laxmi, and the western one is the deities' resting place. Festivals include Janmashtami, Ram Navami and Hindola in Shravan.