BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Manama
Manama, Bahrain
- Deities
- Swaminarayan
- Traditions
- vaishnava
- Worship status
- active
- Darshan hours
- Varies by season; consult BAPS directly for the current daily schedule before visiting.
- Best time to visit
- Confirm the current festival calendar with the temple; Swaminarayan Jayanti is a significant annual observance for BAPS centers generally.
- How to reach
- Located in Manama, Bahrain's capital; reachable by road/taxi from anywhere in the city, with Bahrain International Airport as the nearest airport.
Location
Search for "BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Manama" on Google MapsThis temple's exact coordinates aren't confirmed yet, so the link above searches by name and city rather than pointing to a verified spot.
Bahrain’s Hindu community, one of the oldest and most well-established in the Arabian Gulf, is served by an existing BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Manama, part of the worldwide network of temples maintained by the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS). It operates alongside the historic 1817 Shrinathji Temple (Bahrain’s oldest Hindu temple, documented separately in this directory) and an ISKCON-affiliated temple community, together reflecting a long-tolerated and religiously diverse Hindu presence in the country.
In February 2022, Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa granted additional land for the construction of a second, considerably larger BAPS Swaminarayan temple in the country, explicitly modeled on BAPS’s large traditionally stone-carved temple completed in Abu Dhabi. No source consulted in this research pass could confirm that this larger project has since been completed or formally inaugurated; it should be understood as an announced, land-granted project distinct from — and much larger than — the existing mandir this entry documents.
Sources
- historical record: Cross-checked against Wikipedia's 'Hinduism in Bahrain' article, which lists 'BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir' among Bahrain's Hindu temples, and against the 'List of Hindu temples outside India' Wikipedia article, which separately lists a 'BAPS Center, Manama' citing BAPS's own organizational website. No dedicated Wikipedia article exists for this specific temple, and no address, founding/consecration date, or architectural detail could be confirmed beyond its existence in Manama.
For review
- This entry documents an existing, smaller BAPS mandir/center already operating in Manama; it should NOT be confused with a separate, much larger BAPS Swaminarayan temple project for which King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa granted additional land in February 2022, explicitly modeled on BAPS's large stone temple in Abu Dhabi. As of this research pass, no source could confirm that the larger 2022 land-grant project has been completed or inaugurated (unlike the Abu Dhabi temple, this Bahrain project does not appear to have received comparable global news coverage of a grand opening); treat the larger project as announced/pending rather than built, and this entry as covering only the existing, smaller, already-operating mandir.
- No founding date, exact address, or architectural details for the existing mandir were found in the sources checked in this pass; recommend independent verification before treating anything beyond its existence and city as settled.