An artist’s impression of the temple

Bengal will soon get a new tourist attraction — one that is almost double the height of Victoria Memorial and spread over an area only slightly smaller than the Eden Gardens.

Iskcon is building the “adbhut mandir” in Mayapur that Sri Chaitanya’s friend and disciple Nityananda (Nitai of the Gour-Nitai duo) had prophesied as quoted in Sri Navadvipa-dhama Mahatmya by Bhaktivinod Thakur in 1896. Thakur, a magistrate in the British administration, had built the first shrine to Sri Chaitanya in Mayapur.

The three-winged structure has been named the Chandrodaya Mandir or the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium. The superstructure, being built by Gammon India, stands right in the centre of the Iskcon complex.

The sky is now visible through a huge circular gap in the roof of the central wing, which will house the temple. “This gap is where the central dome will come up. Topped by a chakra, it will rise to 330ft and have a diameter of 177ft,” says engineer Paul Fissenten, a disciple from Auckland who used to make wooden models. He is working on a chandelier to be suspended inside the dome that will be modelled on the cosmological structure of the universe, with stars and planets rotating majestically above visitors.

The interior of the dome will have a custom-made acoustic system to support chanting by 10,000 voices.

Under the dome will stand the Tree of Life, made of stone chips, with zodiac signs and stars, as described in The Gita.

The main temple hall will house idols of Radha-Madhav, Panchatattva (the five elements) and 15 great Vaishnava acharyas. The altars will be decorated with white marble and gold inlay while the domes over each altar will be supported by blue marble columns with golden ornamentation.

“We will import marble from Spain, Italy and Bolivia,” said the director of development, Brajavilasa Das, while showing Metro around the complex.

The temple compound will be spread across 12 acres. The structure will occupy four acres. The rest will be a manicured garden with lakes, fountains and restaurants. At the entrance will be a giant pyre which will burn round the clock from the moment of the opening.

The two other wings will be a Vedic planetarium, seating 275 people, and a temple to Nrisinghadev. “We are aiming to open the central wing in 2016 to mark Iskcon’s golden jubilee,” Das said.

The project cost is $75 million. In keeping with founder Prabhupada’s wish to “raise the temple by the hands of every devotee”, donations are being collected.

“While our chairman Alfred Ford has pledged $30 million, one can even sponsor a brick for Rs 10,” said Radha Jivana Dasa, the temple’s global director, fund-raising.