Perth Shiva Temple

Hindu place of worship in Perth, Western Australia

Perth Shiva Temple

பெர்த் சிவன் கோவில்

Perth Shiva Temple gopuram

Religion
Affiliation| Hinduism
Deity| Shiva and Meenakshi
Festivals| Maha Shivaratri, Pradosham
Status| Active
Location
Location| 271 Warton Road, Canning Vale WA 6155
State| Western Australia
Country| Australia

Shown within Perth

Geographic coordinates| 32°05′00.1″S 115°56′58.6″E﻿ / ﻿32.083361°S 115.949611°E﻿ / -32.083361; 115.949611
Architecture
Type| Dravidian architecture
Groundbreaking| 1990; 35 years ago (1990)
Completed| 1991; 34 years ago (1991)
Direction of façade| East
Website
hindu.org.au

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.

## History

[edit]

Statue of the god Shiva at the entrance of the temple

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 US$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 A$1 million towards development of the temple.[7][8][9]

## Deities inside the Temple

[edit]

* Shiva (Main God)
* Meenakshi (Main Goddess) (referred to as Devi in the temple)
* Ganesha
* Murugan
* Durga
* Navagraha
* Bhairava
* Hanuman
* Vishnu
* Lakshmi[1]
* Athma Lingam

## Festivals and events

[edit]

The temple priests perform pujas to specific gods and goddesses.[10] In addition, festivals celebrated at the temple include the following:

### Maha Shivaratri

[edit]

Maha Shivaratri: the temple is open for an entire day and night of fasting and meditation in honor of the god Shiva.

### Purattasi

[edit]

Purattasi, a Hindu month celebrating Perumal (an avatar of Vishnu), with prayers and a vegetarian feast each Saturday.

### Pradosham

[edit]

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.

## See also

[edit]

* Hinduism in Australia

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Perth Hindu Temple history". Perth Hindu Temple. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
2. ^ "Morrison government promises one million dollars each for Perth Hindu and Sikh Temples, if re-elected". NRI Affairs. 20 April 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
3. ^ Cush, Denise; Robinson, Catherine; York, Michael (2012). "Australasia, Hindus in". Encyclopedia of Hinduism. p. 60\. ISBN 9781135189785.
4. ^ "OZ province contributes USD 600,000 for Hindu temple". PTI - The Press Trust of India. 1 June 2008.
5. ^ Emery, Ryan (2 June 2008). "Temple a blessing for city's Hindus". The Australian Magazine, The Weekend Australian. p. 7.
6. ^ "A towering achievement". Fremantle-Cockburn Gazette (Perth, Australia). 17 June 2008. p. 28.
7. ^ "Around $270 million worth of promises have been made by Labor for WA. Here's a seat-by-seat guide to them all". ABC News. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
8. ^ "Morrison government promises one million dollars each for Perth Hindu and Sikh Temples, if re-elected - NRI Affairs". 20 April 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
9. ^ "Political parties pledge millions in new funds to woo Indian Australian voters". SBS Language. 18 May 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
10. ^ "Poojas". Perth Hindu Temple. Retrieved 19 October 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

Portals:

* Western Australia
* Hinduism
* Architecture

Perth Shiva Temple at Wikipedia's sister projects:

* Media from Commons