Perth Shiva Temple | |
---|---|
பெர்த் சிவன் கோவில் | |
Religion | |
Affiliation | Hinduism |
Deity | Shiva and Meenakshi |
Festivals | Maha Shivaratri, Pradosham |
Status | Active |
Location | |
Location | 271 Warton Rd, Canning Vale WA 6155 |
State | Western Australia |
Country | Australia |
Geographic coordinates | 32°05′00.1″S 115°56′58.6″E / 32.083361°S 115.949611°E |
Architecture | |
Type | Dravidian architecture |
Groundbreaking | 1990 |
Completed | 1991 |
Direction of façade | East |
Website | |
hindu |
The Perth Shiva Temple (Tamil: பெர்த் சிவன் கோவில்), officially Perth Hindu Temple, is a Hindu temple in Canning Vale, in Perth, Western Australia, dedicated to the god Shiva and his consort goddess Meenakshi. The temple is run by the Shri Shiva Devasthanam, a non-profit religious organisation, and was completed in early 1990. It is the oldest Hindu temple in Western Australia.
Plans for a Hindu temple in Perth were first began in 1985. The land was consecrated in 1987 by Swami Shantanand Saraswati and construction was completed and the murtis installed in February 1990.[1] It is the oldest Hindu temple in Western Australia;[2] another temple was built in Perth by Tamil Hindus.[3] The temple's construction, including a final Royal Tower (for which Perth council contributed over $600,000)[4] took over 20 years and was completed in June 2008.[5][6]
In May 2022, in the lead up to Australia's national elections, both major parties promised donations of $1 million towards development of the temple.[7][8][9]
The main deity of the temple is Shiva. The following deities also have shrines in the temple: Ganesha (Vinayagar), Meenakshi (referred to as "Devi" in the temple), Murugan, Durga, the Navagraha, Bairavar, Hanuman, Vishnu, and Lakshmi. Some of the murtis are gifts of Swami Shantanand Saraswati and Swami Haridhos Giri. The wooden murti of Hanuman was a gift soon after the temple opened, from a Chinese man who said the deity had commanded him to take it to a temple.[1]
The temple priests perform pujas to specific gods and goddesses.[10] In addition, festivals celebrated at the temple include the following:
Maha Shivaratri: the temple is open for an entire day and night of fasting and meditation in honor of the god Shiva.
Purattasi, a Hindu month celebrating Perumal (an avatar of Vishnu), with prayers and a vegetarian feast each Saturday.
Pradosham, bimonthly prayers to Shiva during the three hours surrounding sunset on the thirteenth day of every fortnight in the Hindu calendar, with an hour-long mantra sung in the temple.