Bharat Mata Mandir
#6of 7 places to visit in HaridwarHaridwar, Uttarakhand
Also known as Swami Satyamitranand Temple · Mother India Temple
Quick answer
Opening hours: 06:00–20:00. Entry is free. Allow 1.5 hrs. Best time: 09:00 – 11:00 AM.
Updated · Compiled by Traveliac, AI-assisted · 4 min read
- Opening hours
- 06:00–20:00
- Entry fee
- Free
- Time needed
- 1.5 hrs
- Best time of day
- 09:00 – 11:00 AM
- Best months
- Oct – Mar
- Address
- Saptsarovar Road, Bhupatwala, Haridwar, Uttarakhand 249410
About Bharat Mata Mandir
Bharat Mata Mandir rises eight storeys on Saptsarovar Road in Bhupatwala, built in 1983 by Swami Satyamitranand Giri as a temple dedicated not to a single deity but to India itself, personified as Bharat Mata. Indira Gandhi inaugurated the building the same year. Each floor functions as a themed gallery-shrine: the ground floor holds a large marble relief map of India beneath a central image of Bharat Mata; the first floor, Shoor Mandir, honours freedom fighters and military heroes from Mahatma Gandhi to Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi; the second, Matru Mandir, is dedicated to historical women including Ahilyabai Holkar, Meerabai, and Savitribai Phule; the third, Sant Mandir, houses images of saints from Kabir to Sai Baba. Upper floors continue the theme through Hindu deities, Himalayan peaks and pilgrimage sites rendered in relief, giving the building the character of a vertical museum as much as a place of worship — a departure from the ghat and hilltop shrines that otherwise define Haridwar's religious architecture.
Best time of day: 09:00 – 11:00 AM. When the eight-storey stair-and-lift circuit is least crowded and the ground-floor marble relief map is unobstructed for photographs.
Bharat Mata Mandir timings
Bharat Mata Mandir opens at 06:00 and closes at 20:00. It keeps the same hours on Saturday and Sunday.
- Opening hours
- 06:00–20:00
Mon–Sun 06:00–20:00 - Closed on
- Open every day
Opening hours compiled from uttarakhandtourism.gov.in and public records, last updated . They change without notice — confirm before you travel. How we write these guides
Bharat Mata Mandir ticket price
| Ticket | Price |
|---|---|
| Indian visitors | Free |
| Foreign visitors | Free |
| Children | Free |
| Camera | Free |
Entry is free. Some floors accept optional donations toward maintenance; no ticket is issued or required, as of 2026, verify at the counter.
Prices compiled from uttarakhandtourism.gov.in and public records, last updated . They change without notice — confirm before you travel. How we write these guides
Best time to visit Bharat Mata Mandir
- Quiet
- Moderate
- Busy
06:00 – 09:00
Early OpeningBest time to go
Few visitors this early; the ground-floor map hall and lower shrine floors are calm and easy to photograph.
Quiet09:00 – 13:00
Morning Groups
Tour buses combining Bharat Mata Mandir with Pawan Dham and Sapt Rishi Ashram arrive; staircases see steady but manageable traffic.
Moderate13:00 – 16:00
Afternoon Lull
Midday heat thins the crowd; a comfortable window for an unhurried floor-by-floor visit.
Quiet16:00 – 19:00
Evening Peak
The busiest stretch, as day visitors fit the temple in before heading to Har Ki Pauri for the evening aarti; lift queues lengthen on upper floors.
Busy
History of Bharat Mata Mandir
Swami Satyamitranand Giri, a monk of the Shankaracharya lineage who founded the Bharat Mata Mandir Trust, conceived the temple as a way to consolidate India's geographic, historical, and spiritual identity into a single pilgrimage stop — an explicitly nationalist counterpart to the city's older Shakti Peetha and hilltop temples. Construction proceeded through the late 1970s and early 1980s, and the completed structure opened to the public in 1983 with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi presiding over the inauguration.
The temple predates most of Haridwar's other 20th-century religious construction booms (Pawan Dham among them) and set something of a template for combining devotional space with didactic, museum-style floor themes — an approach several later Haridwar institutions have echoed.
Rules & etiquette at Bharat Mata Mandir
The building is navigated by internal staircase or a paid lift for upper floors during peak hours; footwear is removed at the ground-floor entrance and stored at a free counter. Because each floor operates as a distinct thematic shrine, visitors move through in one direction — doubling back against the flow is discouraged by staff during weekend crowds.
Photography is generally permitted throughout, including of the relief maps and statuary, though flash photography near painted plaster reliefs on the upper floors is discouraged to limit wear. Modest dress is expected as at any Haridwar temple, though there is no formal enforcement beyond staff reminders.
Tips for visiting Bharat Mata Mandir
- 1
Budget a full 60–75 minutes to see all eight floors properly — rushing through defeats the point of a building designed as a sequential narrative from geography to history to divinity. The upper floors, covering Himalayan pilgrimage sites and the source rivers of the Ganga, are frequently skipped by time-pressed visitors but are among the more distinctive exhibits, especially for travellers planning onward Char Dham routes.
- 2
Combine the visit with Pawan Dham and Sapt Rishi Ashram, both within a short auto-rickshaw ride along the same Saptsarovar Road corridor — the three sites form a natural half-day loop away from the river-facing temples.
How to reach Bharat Mata Mandir
The red star is Bharat Mata Mandir; the numbered pins are the 5 nearest places in our guides, each showing its rank in its city. Tap a pin for details.
Saptsarovar Road, Bhupatwala, Haridwar, Uttarakhand 249410Directions in Google Maps
From Har Ki Pauri
₹120–1505 km · 15–20 min
Auto-rickshaw
From Haridwar Junction Railway Station
₹130–1606 km · 15–20 min
Auto-rickshaw
From Pawan Dham
₹40–601.5 km · 5–8 min
Auto-rickshaw
Nearest airport
From Jolly Grant Airport (DED), Dehradun
approximately 42 km, 70–85 minutes by road.
Nearest railway station
From Haridwar Junction (HW)
approximately 6 km, 15–20 minutes by auto-rickshaw.
Bharat Mata Mandir FAQs
How many floors does Bharat Mata Mandir have and what do they depict?
Eight storeys. The ground floor holds a marble relief map of India; the first floor (Shoor Mandir) honours freedom fighters; the second (Matru Mandir) honours historical women; the third (Sant Mandir) honours saints; upper floors depict Hindu deities and Himalayan pilgrimage geography.
Who built Bharat Mata Mandir and when did it open?
Swami Satyamitranand Giri built the temple, which opened in 1983 with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi presiding over the inauguration.
Is there an entry fee for Bharat Mata Mandir?
No. Entry is free as of 2026; some floors accept voluntary donations, but no ticket is required.
How long does it take to visit Bharat Mata Mandir?
Around 60–75 minutes to walk all eight floors at a reasonable pace, longer if reading the historical and mythological panels on each level in detail.
Compiled with AI assistance from official sources and public records, and published only after the checks in How we write these guides. Nobody from Traveliac has visited this place. Last updated . How we rank and check places
Places to visit near Bharat Mata Mandir
Straight-line distances from our map; times are estimates.
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