(Redirected from Iraivan temple)
The San Marga 'Iraivan Temple' is a white granite stone
Hindu Śaivite temple sculpted in
India and erected on
Kauai,
Hawaii. "Iraivan" means "He who is worshipped", and is one of the oldest words for
God in the
Tamil language. The Iraivan Temple is located next to the
Wailua River bordering
Wailua River State Park. It is the first stone-carved temple built to last ten centuries and the first built in the West. It is maintained by the
Saiva Siddhanta Church.
Temple
Iraivan Temple is a
Śaivite Hindu temple, dedicated only to
Siva. Born out of a vision of
Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, the temple is a creation of
V. Ganapati Sthapati, the former principal of the Government College of
Architecture in
Tamil Nadu. V. Ganapati Sthapati also sculpted the
Thiruvalluvar Statue.
Sri Trichy Mahaswamigal of the Kailash Ashram describes its importance: "The Iraivan Temple is going to be to America what the temples of
Chidambaram,
Madurai,
Rameshwaram, and other jyotirlingas (light center of
Siva) are to
India."
The temple is located on 51 acres land by the
Wailua River, on the eastern side of
Mount Waialeale. The land is shared with the existing Kadavul
Hindu Temple and Kauai's Hindu Monastery.
[1] Temple carving began in 1990 and completion is tentatively scheduled for 2012.
Architectural features
★ '
Hand-
carved temple:' Without any rock-cutting equipment,
stone craftsmen follow and preserve traditional methods, shaping the stone with simple
chisels and
hammers. The temple is made entirely of 3.2 million pounds of hand-carved
granite carved in
Bangalore, India. The stones are sent to Kauai in containers and assembled on site by Indian
sculptors. The temple is built to last for at least 1,000 years.
★ '
Crystal Sivalingam:' A 700-pound, 39-inch tall, 18-inch across, six-sided crystal representing the
icon (
murti) of
Siva to be worshipped, is the world's largest. It was found in 1975, 65 feet below ground in
Arkansas.
★ '
Fly ash foundation:' The 4-foot thick foundation is made of a crack-free, 7,000-psi formula using "
fly ash", a by-product of
coal burning.
[2] Fly ash consists of
inorganic, incombustible matter present in the coal that has been fused during
combustion into a glassy structure.
★ '
Pillars:' Six stone
lion pillars are stationed around the
sanctum. Each lion holds a stone ball in his mouth, movable, but impossible to remove. First outside of India, two musical pillars hold 5 feet tall rods designed to resonate precise musical
tones when struck with a
mallet. 240
bas-relief carvings portray a visual library of Saivism with
sacred symbols, philosophical concepts, and sculptural depictions of Hawaiian and Hindu cultures.
★ '
Sandalwood doors:' Sandalwood from India is used to build matching 6-inch-thick
teak and sandalwood doors to the main
sanctum.
★ '
Capstone (vimanam):' The capstone of the sanctum
tower is a 7-ton, single stone cupola gilded with 23-karat
gold.
★ '
Plates and time capsules:' Copper plates recording the
history of the temple’s creation are stored in a rock
crypt under the floor. The rock crypt also contains the same records preserved in a modern,
argon-
gas-filled
stainless steel canister.
Mystical aspects
The temple is facing
south and built according to
vastu science.
[3] Vastu architecture aims at creating a
space that will elevate the
vibration of the individual to resonate with the vibration of the built space, which in turn is in tune with universal space. The whole space of the temple is defined in multiples and fractions of one
unit, 11 feet and 7
1/4 inches.
Pillars through the temple are spaced and structured to serve as
energy points for the building. Iraivan Temple will be completely free of electricity for mystical reasons found by
Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami.
The
quartz crystal (sphatika) of the Sivalingam is considered
sacred in
India because of its spotless and transparent consistency, like space.
[4]
Gallery
References
1. http://www.gurudeva.org
2. Fly Ash U.S. Federal Highway Administration
3. Vaastu_Shastra
4. Island Temple
العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
Español
