Famous Hindu Temples In Penang: Nattukottai Chettiar Temple

Hindu Temples - A Timeless Art Form

Temples are called aalayam or kovil in Tamil. The word aalayam comes from anma which means 'soul' and layam which means 'a place where one's anma can find sanctuary'. Similarly ko means 'God' and vil or il means 'place'; thus, kovil means 'God's abode'.
To a Hindu, a temple is more than a place of workship. It is a place specially choosen as the residence of the Supreme Being as the ruler of the universe. The Hindus has chosen three places to workship the Supreme Being: in his heart, in his home, and within a consecrated temple.
The Temple structure itself is conceived of as the universe, and it's principles of construction, form and decoration , as well as the rituals that take place within it's walls, are all aimed at achieving the sublime.
Architecturally, Hindu temples are an ancient art form born of a great religious tradition. Their design has changed little over the centuries.
The structure of the temple: -
The hindu temple is constructed to resemble the form of a human body lying on its back with the head of the temple positioned towards the west and the feet towards the east. This composition underlies the symbolic functions of a Hindu temple.

Mar 3, 2008

Nattukottai Chettiar Temple - Penang

3:57 PM Posted by KallalBoy
Labels: Nattukottai Chettiar Temple - Penang

Sri Thendayuthapani Temple not only epitomizes the glory of Lord Murugan, but also that of the Chettiars, once a community of traders, merchant-bankers and moneylenders. They hail from the Sivagangai and Pudukottai districts of Tamil nadu, India. They settled down in 96 villages in these two districts .

They are often referred to as Nattukottai Chettiars to distinguish them from other groups of Chettiars. The term "Nattukottai Chettiars" means "people with palatial houses in the countryside". They are also referred to as "Nagarathars" meaning city dwellers, as they lived in a city called Poompuhar on the east coast of Tamil Nadu, a part of which went under the sea.

It was a practice for the Nattukottai chettiars to build Lord Murugan temples wherever they settled. This was the case in Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaya, Sri Lanka and Singapore. They had the advice of Sivachariars not to build any Sivan Temples as certain rituals had to be observed. As the Brahmin Sivachariars were prohibited from crossing the seas, they advised them to establish Lord Murugan Temples where non-Brahmin priests, the Pandarams, could be employed.

This does not mean that the Brahmin priests had not visited South East Asia before. Records show that there had been the priests at the Royal Courts of Thailand and Cambodia. The Hindu Traditional practice of reciting Thiruvempavai during the coronation of Thai kings bear testimony to this. No one is certain when and why the Sivachariars - the Tamil speaking Brahmin priests stopped coming to South East Asia.

By the third quarter of the 19th century things changed and the Brahmin priests in India, particularly Tamil Nadu became adventurous as the rest of the Indians and decided to seek their fortunes in Malaya and Singapore.

Festivals

An estimated 100,000 people attend the Thaipusam festival at the temple, making it the largest festival and human gathering in Penang. It is also a leading tourist attraction.

Thaipusam is an annual religious event celebrated by Hindus to commemorate the victory of Lord Murugan over the demon, Tarakasuran. Devotees and penitents can seen bearing kavadis, and piercing their bodies with hooks and spears without seeming to cause any pain or harm as an act of faith and atonement.

The chariot procession begins on Thaipusam eve where the chariot together with Chettiar kavadis -- male chettiar carry a peacock feather yoke accompanying the silver chariot -- (different from body-piercing type of kavadis) departs Kovil Veedu(House Temple) on Penang Street, Georgetown in the morning ends here at night. They retreat to the chettinar for three days before accompanying the chariot back to town.

Contact Details :-

Waterfall Road, Penang.
Tel :- 04-2271322

Pooja Timings :-

Morning Abishegam :- 6.30 a.m.

Morning Pooja :- 7.30 a.m.

Noon Abishegam :- 11.30 a.m.

Noon Pooja :- 12.00 p.m.

Evening Abishegam :- 4.30 p.m.

Evening Pooja :- 5.30 p.m.

Night Abishegam :- 8.15 p.m.

Night Pooja :- 8.30 p.m.

Side View of the temple