Iraivan Temple

Infobox Mandir


caption = Capstone of Iraivan Temple
creator =
proper_name =
date_built =
primary_deity = Shiva
architecture =
location = Kapaa, Hawaii

The San Marga Iraivan Temple is a white granite stone Hindu temple sculpted in India and being erected on Kauai, Hawaii. It is dedicated to God Siva. "Iraivan" means "He who is worshipped," and is one of the oldest words for God in the Tamil language.Fact|date=August 2008 The Iraivan Temple is located next to the Wailua River and five miles (8 km) from Mount Waialeale. It is the first all-stone temple to be built in America.Fact|date=August 2008 It is maintained by the Saiva Siddhanta Church, also known as Kauai Aadheenam and Kauai's Hindu Monastery. Sri Trichy Mahaswamigal of the Kailash Ashram describes the temple's importance: "The Iraivan Temple is going to be to America what the temples of Chidambaram, Madurai, Rameshwaram, and other great Siva temples are to India."Fact|date=August 2008

History

Iraivan Temple was inspired by a vision of Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami in which he saw Lord Shiva walking on the land where the temple is now located.Fact|date=August 2008 It is intended as a place of pilgrimage for Hindus worldwide. Subramuniyaswami set three parameters for its design and construction:
* that it follow traditional design according to the Saiva Agamas
* that it be designed to last 1,000 years
* that it be entirely carved by hand, without the use of any machinery. The temple design was completed by Dr. V. Ganapati Sthapati in the late 1980s. Carving of the 3,000-plus blocks of granite commenced in 1990 at a worksite in Bangalore, India. Beginning in 2001, the stone were shipped to Kauai and assembly begun by a team of silpi temple carvers under the direction of a master architect or sthapati. The 3.2 million pound temple is expected to be completed in 2012.Fact|date=August 2008

Architecture

The temple possesses a number of architectural features. The first is that it is being carved entirely by hand. Craftsmen follow and preserve traditional methods, shaping the stone with small hammers and utilizing over 70 types of chisels. The second feature is the the convert|4|ft|m|sing=on thick foundation is made of a crack-free, 7,000-psi formula using "fly ash," a by-product of coal burning. [cite web | author = U.S. Federal Highway Administration | authorlink = Federal Highway Administration | title = Fly Ash | url = http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/materialsgrp/flyash.htm] Fly ash consists of inorganic, incombustible matter present in the coal that has been fused during combustion into a glassy structure. The foundation was designed by Dr. Kumar Mehta, a materials scientist at the University of California, Berkeley, and has demonstrated his theories on the use of fly ash in concrete. The third set of features are exhibitions of the stone carver's craft. The foremost of these are two sets of "musical pillars" whose tall rods are designed to resonate precise musical tones when struck with a mallet.Fact|date=August 2008 Others include six stone lions carved into the pillars each of which contains a stone ball freely rotatable in its mouth but not removable, a large stone bell, and ten-foot long stone chains with loose links.Fact|date=August 2008

The temple is facing south and built according to vastu science. [cite web | title = Vaastu_Shastra | url = http://www.srikumar.com/vaastu_shastra.htm] 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, convert|11|ft|m 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 Shiva-lingam is considered sacred in India because of its spotless and transparent consistency, like space. [cite web | title = Island Temple | url = http://www.himalayanacademy.com/ssc/hawaii/iraivan/island_temple_magazine/isleTemple-04_14-15.pdf]

Gallery

References