"Sri Maha Mariamman Temple" Top 5 Page for this destination Kuala Lumpur Travelogue by Audrey118

If you are in the Chinatown vicinity near the top of Jalan Bandar or also known as Jalan Tun HS Lee, please visit this magnificent temple. You must remove your shoes to enter the temple.

Thamboosamy Pillai constructed this building in 1873 as a private Hindu Temple and was a private temple until the late 1920s. The old structure was replaced with a new Temple that was consecrated in 1973

This temple resembles the form of human body lying on his back with the head positioned towards the west and the feet towards the east. The tower which you can see corresponds to the feet of the body and is the threshold between the material and spiritual world. This high pyramid-shaped gate tower is decorated with depictions of Hindu Gods sculptured by artisans from Southern India.

The rear corresponds to the head is a freestanding structure with its own roof and walls and has one entrance that faces east. This is the inner sanctum where the chief deity Sri Mahamariaman is installed. The priest stands in front of the garbagraham when performing the puja (prayers). Ganesh is in the shrine on the left and Subramaniam, his brother, is on the right. Ganesh is also found at the entrance, as he is the remover of obstacles.

The intricately adorned portico of deities is decorated with gold and precious stones and depicts stories from early Hindu history.

If you chance here during the Thaipusam festival, it is here where they start the procession.
When I young, and schooling in the city, we can watch the procession which starts around 6am, and it is really magnificent. They walk from here all the way to Batu Caves.

The Goddess of Wealth, Lakshmi, (the one holding lotus and standing on lotus) is also called Padma, Kamla and Kamalasana after the other names of the flower. She, is also the Goddess of Fertility. Lakshmi the synonym for prosperity.

Also in the picture is the Goddess of Learning, Saraswati. She is shown here wearing a jeweled crown over her head and bedecked with resplendent pearl ornaments and seated on a pedetral. Her face is said to resemble the full moon with a smile on it. The original concept of Saraswati was that of a feminine water deity. Over a period of time, this riverine goddess came to be associated with all coursing and flowing energies and forces. Today, Saraswati is hailed as the patron goddess for the thought process and all creative arts.

Worshippers come here to offer their prayers (pujas), and it is here where everyone be it rich or poor humilates and offering sincere prayers. They would walk around the flag. The centre door is now closed but opens during prayer time. There are many deities surrounding the prayer hall.

On the left are many deities - 63 in all - each carrying a story of its own, each are Siva devotees.

One of the deity was Nadaraja who after years of prayers and devotion in the jungle, was finally brought Siva before him. Siva appeared to him with two eyes and one of which was bleeding so Nadaraja plucked out the bleeding eye and replaced it with his eye. Then the other eye started to bleed as well, but Nadaraja could not offer his other eye or else he could see no more, so he offered his leg - as soon as he did that - he disappeared.