Kuala Lumpur Temple Tours 2 Days and 1 Night

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Kuala Lumpur Temple Tours 2D 1N
Friday night Singapore/Kuala Lumpur
Pick up from any terminal point in Singapore at 11.30pm. Proceed, to Kuala Lumpur. Upon arrival in Kuala Lumpur, check in for home stay refreshment. Relax and leisure till pick up at 8.30am .
Saturday Kuala Lumpur
	After breakfast at home stay or hotel, proceed to Sri Sakthi Vinayagar Temple. This temple began with very humble beginning. It is said that the Hindu devotees residing in squatter houses in Jalan Abdul Samad, Brickfields, worshipped a lighted oil lamp near a tapioca plant. This lamp was placed by Mr. D’ Cruz or “Anna” as he was popularly known, who often saw a white shadow near the tapioca plant.

Within that obscure place of worship, the Palm Court Condominiums came into existence and replaced the squatter houses there. It is pertinent here to mention Mr. D’ Cruz who had the foresight to develop this place of worship. In the meantime, the Muniandy Temple in Lake Gardens was the place of worship for all the Bandaraya workers and their families, unfortunately in 1966, the homes of the Bandaraya workers and the shops in Lake Gardens were demolished. These shops were then relocated in Brickfields and were called “The Pines”. As a result of this relocation, the Muniandy Temple was unattended and all the items in the temple were removed by unknown persons, leaving behind the statue of Lord Muniswaran.

With the assistance of Mr. Chinniah and Mr. Palani, the statue of Lord Muniswarar was brought and placed near the tapioca plant. Mr. Sangu Mandor while paying homage to Lord Muniswarar, offered sacrifices of chicken and goat. This resulted some government officials and the staff of Vivekananda Tamil School fearing to go to this vicinity. Mr. Chinniah with the assistance of Mr. Chinnasami, Mr. Apiah, Mr. Vengatesan, Mr. Suppiah and postman, Mr. Veerasamy, decided to restructure the temple. At about the same time, Mr. Ratnam found a statue of Lord Vinayagar near a river in Pantai Dalam and brought and placed the said statue at the temple . Mr. Chinniah then planted an”arasamara kandru” (Peepul tree sapling) behind the Vinayagar statue. The Muniswarar statue was moved to the side. With a collection of about RM1,200.00 an aluminium shed was built and the first “Kumbhabhishegam” was carried out. Following the consecration ceremony, ‘animal sacrifice’ was totally banned. Unhappy about the decision, Mr. Sangu Mandor released himself from the temple activities. A temple committee was then set up. Mr. K.S. Maniam was eleted as the first President of the temple committee.
	In 1969, the Kaliamman Temple in Lorong Scott, Brickfields, had to be moved. The temple committee decided to take the statue of the deity and place it in the Vinayagar Temple. With all the combination of all the deities, the temple committee decided to rename and register the temple as  Sri Sakthi Vinayagar Temple.   The unique feature of this temple is the Tribandham Vinayagar . This wonderful statue of Lord Vinayagar is made from a combination of brown sugar, banana and cement. Besides that, the Vinayagar Chathurthi is celebrated on a grand scale at this holy site.
To mark this auspicious event, two elephants are brought into the temple for a Gaja puja. The elephants are bathed, decorated and then circumbulate the vicinity. The elephants then ascend the stairs of the temple and bless the offerings of the puja. Karpaga Vinayagar is the main deity. The other deities in the temple include Kaliambal, Balamurugan, Nagar, Agasthiyar and the Navagrahas.

Karpaga Vinayagar in this temple is different from the thirty-six images of Vinayagar that we offen see and worship.  The statue of Karpaga Vinayagar, carved from a single block of granite, brought from Pillayarpatti, South India. The world renowned Pillayarpatti Karpaga Vinayagar Chief Priest, Dr. Sri Pitchai Gurukkal, designed the Karpaga Vinayagar statue in the main sanctum. Our Karpaga Vinayagar is portrayed with two arms and a trunk that curves to his right in the Valampuri form. This 5.1 feet (Designed according to our temple floor size) tall mammoth image of Ganesha holds a Shivalingga on his right hand, his left hand grips his belly and he sits in a meditation position. It is said that Lord Karpaga Vinayagar meditates for the well being of His devotees, hence their prayers are answered immediately.

After your prayers and wishes, proceed to Sri Kandaswamy temple along the same vicinity.

Sri Kandaswamy Temple is located at Kalamandabam Brickfields. This temple acquires a background history of the early 1900s, a community elder received a vision of a temple at a site located at the end of Scott Road, at Klang River, and slowly over the years the temple developed.

An interesting history explains, after the Treaty of Pangkor in 1874, the British embarked upon the construction of roads, railways, schools, hospitals and government offices in the Peninsula Malaya, to develop the country and to increase its revenue.   It fell to the Ceylonese to survey the railways and to build and man them, to be apothecaries (Pharmacist) in the hospitals, to be technical assistants to qualified engineers and to staff the clerical services on which an expanding government was bound increasingly to depend.

In Kuala Lumpur, the Ceylon Tamil population was mainly concentrated in Brickfields and Sentul, They were devout Saivites and many of whom were students of Saiva Siddhanta Asiriar Sivapadasundaranar, an acknowledged follower of Sri La Sri Arumuga Navalar, felt that there was an urgent need for a place of worship in accordance with the Saiva Agamas. They fervently believed that “no one should live in a place that has no Temple “, they soon began to organize themselves into Associations.

With this in view, on 24th December, 1890 a group of Ceylon Saivites met at the residence of one Mr. V. Sinnapah, Acting Traffic Inspector, Malayan Railway and an influential member of the Ceylon Tamil Community was decided (a) to build a temple to worship Lord Subramaniam and (b) to purchase an appropriate land to build the temple.   Soon after the purchase of the land a “Vel” was installed in the said land by His Holiness Sri Murugaswamy, an eminent Saivite, and a small temple with Gopuram was completed in 1909. The First Maha Kumba Abishegam of the Sri Kandaswamy Temple was held on 9th February, 1909 Tamil year Keelaga 28th day of the Tamils month “Thai”.

In 1927 a new organization, the all-Hindu “Ceylon Saivites Association,” assumed management from the original Selangor Ceylon Tamil Association, some of whose members were of other faiths. In the 1950s, religious classes on Saiva Siddhanta were instituted for youth, along with the learning of Tamil Devaram, sacred hymns by the saints. By 1965 the temple boasted a library, offices and dining facility. In 1973 a 700-seat wedding hall was dedicated by then Prime Minister of Malaysia, YAB Tun Abdul Razak bin Dato Hussein.

After prayers, proceed to Sri Thandayuthapani temple at Jalan Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur

Arrive at Sri Dhandayuthapani temple long Jalan Ipoh ,  Kuala Lumpur , This temple have its fine architecture and it is at least 100 years  old . It is maintained by Chettairs Association of Malaysia. They also facilitate accommodation for new comers to Malaysia and also accommodate the local tourist. Thaipusam, Navrathri and Panguni Uththiram for 3 days festivities with Silver Chariot and is celebrated in grand manner.

After a quick visit and prayers, head on to Batu Caves.
Arrive at Batu Caves have a free and easy tour for 2 hours in Batu Caves. Start off with Pillaiyar temple and proceed to the 272 stairs up to the caves which is approximately 400ft above ground level.T he statue of Lord Muruga at the entrance of the steps stands is the world’s tallest golden statue at 130 feet,  42.7m tall and is a tourist spot.

In 2007, the festival attracted more than 1.5 million pilgrims, making it one of the   largest gatherings in history. The limestone forming Batu Caves is said to be around 400 million years old and the most south lying outcrop of limestone in the northern hemisphere.

In 1891 temple founder, Thamboosamy Pillai, laid foundation stone and installed a “murti” or consecrated statue of the Sri Subramania Swamy Temple. Apparently the mouth of the entrance to the main cave resembles the shape of a “Vel” or spear. In 1892 First Thaipusam festival celebrated here. This major Hindu festival has been held here annually since then. 1920 Wooden steps were built to access the main cave or the cathedral cave where the Sri Subramania Swamy Temple is located.

Next, visit the impressive statue of Hanuman, the monkey God, dominating the approach to a temple cave dedicated to his worship. The 15 meters or 50 foot tall statue of Hanuman or the monkey god, related to the tale of Ramayana located towards the left of the temple compound as one enters. Spend sometime in Sri Ranganathar temple, just next to the Hanuman temple.

After prayers, have lunch at Batu Caves. After lunch, proceed to Athi Easwaran Temple , Sentul (Kuala Lumpur)

The Athi Eeswaran majestic temple, is known to be with the largest ‘Raja Gopuram (royal tower) in South East Asia. It was built in 1937 by a group of dedicated Saivite followers, lead by the late Dr.Viswalingam. The calm and refreshing vibration in this temple is spiritually intoxicating, nourishing for the soul, plucking off every worry in the stifling mind. This temple is strategically located opposite a Hindu burial ground, whereby the ashes of the crematorium are blown towards the entrance of the temple. Temples of this type are rare, and are known as ‘moksha’ (spiritual salvation) temples.

The ‘Shiva lingam’ originates from the holy river Ganges in Kashi, India. The original founder of this temple, Dr.Viswalingam, made a pilgrimage to India and as he was bathing in the holy Ganges river, he found this sacred ‘Shiva lingam’ . This particular type of ‘Shiva lingam’ comes only from Narmada River, located in the west of India. This ‘Shiva lingam’ from Narmada river has been made popular by the movie ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’, whereby Indiana Jones was searching for the sacred ‘Shiva lingam’.

The faithful devotees who ardently attend to ‘Puja’ at this temple are abundantly blessed. A dedicated lawyer, who has been actively serving this temple, was promoted to a judge. Another prominent businessman, who was having a downturn in his business, soon regained the profitability of his business after repeatedly donating for ‘Abhishekam’ In addition, there was an ill-stricken cancer patient, who continuously recited the ‘Mahamrityunjaya Mantra’ (A life restoring mantra dedicated to Lord Shiva), was miraculously cured in 3 months.

Later, after spending time in Athi Easwaran temple, proceed to Sri Ganesar Court Hill or Kort Malai Pillaiyar temple.
	Arrive at Sri Ganesar Court Hill Temple, located at Pudu, Kuala Lumpur. This is a holy site and is considered one of the foremost Hindu temple in Malaysia. The history of this holy place has a very interesting background. In 1897, an Indian gardener started a shrine for Lord Ganesha.

Apparently, the land or orchard, belong to a British official’s residence popularly known as Wagner Durai, who initially served in Malaya as a senior police official, and later as a lawyer.

As the shrine started becoming more popular with its surrounding inhabitants, the Indian gardener decided to install a bell to announce auspicious timings. The sound emitting from the bell annoyed Wagner. He boldly informed his worker to remove the bells, or he would have to demolish the shrine. As soon as he had uttered this sentence, he had become paralyzed. Soon after, the gardener had a dream in which Lord Ganesha instructed him to conduct a prayer for Wagner Durai and smear vibuthi (holy ash) onto Wagner’s legs and hands. The gardener did as he was instructed, and Wagner soon recovered. Wagner subsequently started praying at this benevolent shrine and contributed towards the construction of the temple. The temple is built on a sloping ‘moona muchandi’ (3 adjoining corners) thereby making it extremely powerful. Moreover this is the only temple in the world that conducts ‘sankha puja’ (conch shell puja) twice daily throughout the year. This propitious puja was initiated in the year 1939 at this temple. The glory of this temple is further enhanced by the gold ‘garba graham’ (entrance) at the main sanctum. The temple had acquired its name, Court Hill Ganesar as the previous high court was adjacent to the temple. Most lawyers who had represented clients at this court would pray at this temple for a favourable outcome. If the verdict was favourable, the lawyers would contribute towards the upkeep of the temple in gratitude. Also there is a ‘Vilvam’ (Bael) tree in the temple itself. The tree has been in the temple since inception and is also a focal point in the temple. Devotees who circumbulate the temple will stroke the bark of the tree, and then proceed to prostrate before Lord Ganesha. The temple tour for the day is over, transfer to Kuala Lumpur city centre, visit the Petronas twin towers,shopping at Chinatown and the Central market, dinner and transfer to hotel. Free and Easy at own leisure. Overnight Kuala Lumur.

Sunday Kuala Lumpur/Singapore
	After breakfast at hotel, proceed to Sri Mahamariamman Temple . This temple was founded by   K. Thamboosamy Pillai   in 1873 and was initially used as a private shrine by the Pillai family. The family threw the temple doors open to the public in the late 1920s and eventually handed the management of the temple over to a board of trustees.

This is the oldest functioning   Hindu   temple in   Malaysia . It is also reputed to be the richest in the country. The temple was originally sited somewhere near the   Kuala Lumpur Railway Station . It shifted to its present location along Jalan Tun H.S. Lee (next to Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown ) in 1885. The initial attap structure was demolished in 1887 and a brick building was erected in its place. That structure was demolished to make way for the current temple building which were completed in 1968. The impressive gateway to the temple, known as the   gopuram , was completed in 1972. The new temple was consecrated in 1973.

Built in the   south Indian   style, the temple most outstanding feature is the impressive 5-tiered   gopuram   (tower). It is the tallest structure in the temple. The dramatic 22.9m (75ft) high pyramid-shaped gate tower is decorated with depictions of Hindu gods sculpted by artisans from southern India. The chief sculptor was the late S. T. Muniappa from Tamil Nadu and is credited for creating the 228 idols on the gopuram.

This Temple resembles the form of a human body lying on its back with the head positioned towards the west and the feet towards the east. The temple’s 5-tiered gopuram corresponds to the feet of the body. It is the threshold between the material and spiritual world. At the rear is the   garbagraham   or   sanctum sanctorum, which corresponds to the head. It 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 Maha Mariamman is installed. The priest stands in front of the garbagraham when performing the puja (prayers). Within the temple is a main   prayer   hall with richly decorated   ceilings. The location of three shrines in the main temple is marked by an ornately embellished   onion dome   which can be seen from outside. There are also four smaller shrines located peripherally around the main temple building Lord Ganesha   is in the shrine on the left and   Lord Muruga, his brother, is on the right. Ganesh is also found at the entrance as he is the remover of obstacles. The eight female figures adorning the pillars inside the temple are of   Lakshmi   (Goddess of Wealth). In keeping with   Hindu   tradition, the temple is   reconsecrated once every 12 years, A silver chariot is housed within the premises. This chariot is a prominent feature during the annual Thaipusam   festival. It used during this occasion for transporting the statuettes of   Lord Muruga   and his consorts (Valli and Teivayanni) through the city streets to Batu Caves. It made its debut in 1893 and was built at a cost of RM350,000 using 350 kilograms of silver . The chariot was made in   India   and shipped here in 12 parts to be assembled. It is 6.5 metres tall and has 240 bells and a pair of horses on it. Before the silver chariot, a wooden one was used which was made 1930 by Indian craftsmen at a cost of RM50,000. Recently, the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple Dhevasthanam has after a 40 year old wait, finally got its own building. The RM13 million six storey building, located behind the temple in Jalan Tun H.S Lee was officially opened by Works Minister and   MIC   President   Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu. The Temple chairman R. Nadarajah said the idea to construct the building was mooted by   Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu   38 years ago when he was a committee member of the temple. The building is situated beside the Klang Bus Station and opposite the Putra LRT station known as   Bangunan Mariamman . The building which is connected to the temple, has two floors of basement car parks, three floors for two auditoriums and a hall. The Temple is managed by the Board of Management of Sri Maha Mariamman Temple Devasthanam, which also manages the   Batu Caves Sri Subramaniam Temple   and the Kortumalai Pillaiyar Temple. It also performs the role of Hindu Religious Consultant to the Government of Malaysia   in determining the   Hindu   yearly calendar. On the holy day of   Thaipusam, thousands of devotees throng the temple at the wee hours of the morning to start a long procession leading up to   Batu Caves   as a religious undertaking to Lord Muruga. They carry containers containing milk as offering to Lord Muruga   either by hand or in huge decorated carriers on their shoulders called ‘kavadi’. After visiting Sri Maha Mariamman temple, head on to Sri Sakthi Easwari temple in Sungai Way, Petaling Jaya.

Sri Sakthi Easwari temple and its humble beginning can be traced back to the time when Mr. N. Thurairaju, the founder, realized the need of a place of worship for the relatively large Hindu populace in Seaport Estate (Section B) and organized the building of the temple with the help of many dedicated people. The temple was completed in 1968 and was located at what is now SS3 alongside Jalan Makmur.

In 1975, Mr. S.C.Vadivelu became the president of the temple and carried on with the good work. Mr. S.Balasingam took over as head of the temple in 1977. It was around this time that Selangor State Development Corporation, commonly known as PKNS, began development works in Seaport Estate (Section B). The temple was within their area of development and thus needed to be relocated.  Through negotiations, the committee was able to secure a ½-acre plot of land along Jalan SS 3/39, which has been the location of the temple since then. Poorviga Amman was then relocated to the new site.
Towards the end of 1979, under the leadership of Mr. S.Balasingam, construction works on the Main Temple commenced and was completed in early 1983. The Maha Kumbabhishegam Ceremony was held on 24.03.1983, under the auspices of Dato’Sri S.Samy Velu. Worshippers frequenting the temple increased over the years.  It was soon realized that a Wedding Hall was urgently needed to meet the needs of the devotees. In early 1990, under the leadership of Mr. N.Thurairaju, a ceremony was held to inaugurate the launching of activities towards building the Wedding Hall, under the auspices of Dato’ Sri S.Samy Velu.
Having spent time in Sri Sakthi Easwari temple, have lunch and later proceed to Raja Rajeswari temple in Ampang.

Upon arrival at Raja Rajeswary Temple, Ampang (Kuala Lumpur), feel free and easy till depart to Singapore. The temple was established in 1974, and is the pride and the joy of its founder, the late Mr. K Suppiah.

He had taken a considerable amount of his time, effort and creativity to develop this previous empty piece of land into a spiritual architectural delight. The temple is abundant with neem, bael, champa, and jamun trees. Also found are tulasi (holy basil), jasmine shrubs and sugar cane. The entrance of the temple is adorned with a water fountain, whilst the rear end of the temple has a spectacular water cascade. The temple has become a spiritual oasis for Hindu devotees of Klang Valley.

Due to his devotion to Goddess Raja Rajeswary, Mr. K Suppiah has been blessed with several visions of this Goddess. During the Mahakumbhabishegam, the committee members of the temple along with several priests went to the bank of Ampang River to collect soil. This religious ceremony is known as “Punitha Man Eduthal” translated as collecting of sacred soil. As they were departing back to the temple, Mr. K Suppiah noticed that Goddess Raja Rajeswary followed them after partaking in this religious ceremony. He was astounded by this beautiful vision of the sacred Goddess.
As the years passed, Mr. K Suppiah’s health deteriorated. A few months before his loss, he had another vision of Goddess Raja Rajeswary. He dreamt of the Goddess walking from the temple inner sanctum towards the entrance of the temple. At the entrance of the temple, the Goddess laughed joyously. She then proclaimed that she was contented with her palatial residence and thanked Mr. K Suppiah for his endeavour. Although Mr. K Suppiah has passed away, he has left an immense spiritual legacy that benefits the entire Hindu community of Malaysia. This temple which resembles a palace is the spiritual abode of Goddess Raja Rajeswary. Raja Rajeswari is the presiding deity of Sri Yantra. Sri Yantra is a configuration of nine interlocking triangles. The five downward pointing triangles represent Shakti, and four upright triangles represent Shiva. Goddess Raja Rajeswari has four hands, three eyes and wields a noose, goad, sugar cane bow and five flowered arrows.
After prayers and temple sightseeing, spend the rest of the day with leisure tour in city centre (KL tower and Twin towers) till time to depart to Singapore.