Saturday and Sunday from 6 am until 8:30 pm. In the colorful Navaratri festival parade the image of Mariamman is carried in procession along Silom Road and surrounding streets. In September or October depending on the lunar calendar devotees celebrate the ten day Navaratri festival. Nearby kiosks sell garlands, flowers and incense for worshippers. After receiving the offering, the priest gives a blessing and puts a kumkum tilak, a red dot on the forehead of the devotee.
Priests accept offerings as flowers and fruits put on trays. Make an offeringĮvery day worshippers come to the temple. The atmosphere at the temple is vibrant, the small temple can get crowded with Hindu, Thai and Chinese worshippers. The other two shrines are dedicated to Ganesha and Kartikeya.Īround the temple are statues of other Hindu deities as Krishna, Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma, Lakshmi, Kali and Saraswati. The dome enshrines a small image of the deity. The central shrine, a gilded dome, is dedicated to the main deity Mariamman. The six meter high gopura is adorned with very colorful or ornate carved depictions of Hindu deities. Entrance gopuraĮntrance to the temple is through a gopura, an entrance gate. Beautiful mosaic artwork depict Hindu deities as Parvati, Ganesha, Kartikeya and Shiva. The temple’s South Indian architecture is distinctly different from the Buddhist temples in Bangkok. One of them was Vaithi, a gemstone trader from Tamil Nadu, who built the temple in the Silom area of Bangkok. When India was colonized by the British empire, a number of people decided to leave their country and settle in Bangkok.
Sri Maha Mariamman temple was completed in 1879. Mariamman is usually depicted as a beautiful young woman, often holding a trident. Devotees also pray to Mariamman for fertility and to cure certain diseases. The temple is dedicated to Mariamman, the Goddess of rain, worshipped mainly in South India. These leaves are generally donated by church members as part of their long tradition.Colorful temple with huge statues of Ganesha, Guanyin, Indra and Brahma. The best time to visit this place would be the end of their festive season like the Vesak season, when the entire statue is covered with fresh layers of gold leaves. It’s believed that once Buddha visited this place leaving a footprint located on the temple’s left entrance. Built from the bark of legendary Bodhi tree, the case hold one of the most important relics of Buddhism.
This is the reason why it got the name “Temple of Thousand Lights.”Īt the bottom of the statue is a fresco depicting Buddha’s life events. During night when these chains are lit, come and bask in the splendour of the illuminated Buddha as he showers his wisdom over people below. This is just one of the reasons for the temple being regarded as one of the most important temples in Singapore.īoasting a weight of more than 3000 tons, this statue is rimmed with an endless chain of 100 colourful icon lamps which makes the temple more attractive. The Buddha statue installed inside the temple is one of the tallest statues in Singapore, standing 15 feet high above the ground. The Thai and Indian origins of the monk who founded this temple lead to its unique architectural style which was greatly influenced by Thai, Indian and Chinese styles.