The grand consecration of the new Perth Hindu temple was held on September 8, 2005, temple officials said.
About 2000 people attended the Maha Kumbhabishekam event they said.
The ceremonies were conducted by Shri Parameswara Kurukkal (Malaysia) in the presence of Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami (Hawaii) with the assistance of priests from Sri Lanka, India and Malaysia and other temples in Australia (Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane).
The consecration ceremony sequence commenced with the Ganesha Hawan on 13 July 2005 and continued daily with the Yantra Pooja for 48 days as per Hindu customs, they said.
Apart from he central shrines of Shiva, Devi and Ganesha, the temple also has shrines for Vishnu, Lakshmi, Murugan and Hanuman.
“The outstanding architecture of the temple is the work of a dedicated team of local and overseas devotees,” temple officials said.
The architecture drawings were done by the famous architect Mr V S Thurairajah.
The land for the temple site was consecrated by Swami Shantananda in a ceremony in 1987, with construction of the multi purpose hall commencing in March 1989.
The foundation ceremony for the new temple was held on 10 April 1998.
Artisans from India led by Stapathi,Devakottai S.Nagarajan, who commenced detailed work in August 2002, produced intricate sculptural work on shrine domes, on pillars and temple walls.
“Indeed it is a building which will create its place in the History of Western Australia,” temple officials said.
“Acknowledging the fact that the Hindus in Western Australia come from different countries and regions, our new temple is an outstanding example of multiculturalism within the Hindus,” temple officials said.
The architecture includes influence from North India (Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan), Western India (Gujarat), South India (Tamil Nadu, Andhra and Kerala) and Sri Lanka, they pointed out.
The South side Gopuram (or entrance door) and all the icons in the South side of the temple including Vishnu, Lakshmi and Hanuman are in the North Indian pattern.
The sculptures on the wall Ram Parivar, Vishnu, Sri Krishna and Ganesha are in the North Indian and Gujrati pattern.
The North side Gopuram is in Gujrati pattern.
The North side icons, Kartikeya, Vasanta Mandapam, Utsava Mandapam and sculptures on the wall are in the South Indian and Sri Lankan pattern.
“The Perth Hindu Temple is thus an absolutely unique structure with no other temple in the world with similar characteristics,” they said.
 |
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.
