34-feet-high horses for ISKCON temple in Kurukshetra to now come from Indonesia, not China

Due to the anti-China sentiment in the country, the temple management has decided not to place the order with a Chinese firm
A statue at Kurukshetra depicting a scene  from the war
A statue at Kurukshetra depicting a scene from the war

CHANDIGARH: The four horses which were to come from China for the Krishna-Arjun Mandir which is being constructed by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) at a cost of over Rs 100 crore in Kurukshetra will now come from Indonesia. Due to the anti-China sentiment in the country, the temple management has decided not to place the order with a Chinese firm.

Sources said that it was decided to order four horses to be placed at the temple. They are likely to be made of marble with a height of 34 feet and length of 41 metres, costing around Rs 80 lakh per piece. Talks with a Chinese company were almost finalized before the plan was shelved.

Confirming this development, President of ISKCON, Kurukshetra, Sakshi Gopal Das said, "We were on the verge of placing an order with a Chinese company for the four horses but now it has been decided not to place the order due to the anti-China sentiment in the country. Also, the quality of the horses was not up to the mark. Now, we have decided to place the order with a company in Indonesia. Talks are going on and we are almost at the final stage of placing the order."

Das went on to add, "The construction of the temple complex began in 2018 and it will be completed in 2022. It is being built on six acres and the temple itself will be spread over 23,000 square feet with three storeys and height of 165 feet. It will have the world’s biggest Bhagawad Gita, a multimedia centre in which the Mahabharata will be played for devotees, a library which will have all scriptures, Govinda’s restaurant (a chain of ISKCON), 75-room guest house, art gallery, spiritual gift shop, supermarket and cafe. As of now, 60 per cent construction is completed.’’

A couple of other temples are being constructed in the holy city. The Bharat Mata Ka Mandir will be built in Kurukshetra over five acres of land at a spot between Jyotisar and Brahamsarovar. Another temple, Gita Gyan Mandir, which has 18 floors is almost complete.

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