Name
Other names: Chettiar Hindu Temple
Proper name: Sri Thendayuthapani Temple
Tamil: ஸ்ரீ தண்டாயுதபாணி கோவில்
Location
Country: Singapore
Location: 15 Tank Road
Architecture and culture
Primary deity: Murugan
Architectural styles: Dravidian architecture
History
Date built: 1859
Creator: Nattukkottai Chettiar Community
The Sri Thendayuthapani Temple,
better known as the Chettiar Hindu Temple, is one of Singapore Hindu
community’s most important monuments. It was built in the year 1859 by
Nattukkottai Chettiar community. This Shaivite temple, dedicated to
the six-faced Lord Subramaniam (Lord Muruga), is at its most active
during the festival of Thaipusam, where the procession ends here. It is
here, during the annual Thaipusam festival, that hundreds of pilgrims,
their bodies pierced by hooks, spears and spiked steel structures called
Kavadi, end their walk from the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple on
Serangoon Road.
The act of penance is carried out by
devotees in gratitude to Lord Subramanian or Murugan, son of Lord Siva,
for granting their prayers of supplication.
The First Consecration Ceremony
As quoted in their website, the slab
stones found at Sri Thendayuthapani Temple show that the temple was
consecrated on 4.4.1859. That would mean that the building works had
started one or two years earlier.
In fact the community bought the land,
where the present temple stands, from the estate of Mr Oxley, the first
Surgeon General of Singapore. The temple in its original form was of a
simple structure.
At the entrance to the temple, two raised
platforms similar to that found in Chettiar households in Tamil Nadu
were erected. It had an alangara mandapam and an artha mandapam.
The alangara mandapam was used to house
the decorated deities on special occasions while the artha mandapam was
the centre hall leading to the main sanctum. The main sanctum was of
course dedicated to Lord Muruga in the form of Sri Thendayuthapani.
Subsequent Consecrations
The old temple underwent some renovation
and restoration works on two occasions when the consecration ceremonies
were held in 1936 and 1955. However, the community felt the need to
upgrade the temple with modern facilities so as to keep pace with the
development of Singapore.
The Nagarathars decided in the late
seventies, to rebuild the temple on the same site. The temple was to be
in the centre with a wedding hall and staff quarters flanking its sides.
The food courtyard known as the karthigai kattu was replaced by a
wedding hall with car parking facilities. The piling work started on 4
Jan 1981 and was completed on 19 Jan 1983.
