Malaysia's rebuilt Tirupati Venkateswara temple set to draw thousands of worshippers

Klang (Malaysia), May 19 (ANI): The newly rebuilt Sri Sundararaja Perumal temple, known worldwide as the Tirupati Venkateswara temple of Southeast Asia, will be the first all-granite and hand-carved religious place of its kind in Malaysia.

Devoted to the worship of Lord Vishnu, the temple will draw devotees in large numbers and has enlisted the efforts of 50 stone carvers and their families in Kanchipuram near Chennai to craft the all-granite temple.

Temple president S. Ananda Krishnan, who initiated the idea to rebuild the temple using granite, said work had began last year and would be completed in 2014.

"Stone blocks from Sirudamoor Hill, some 20km from Kanchipuram will be carved. No machines will be used so as not to disturb the living energy in the granite," The Star quoted him, as saying.

"It is believed that Vishnu is in everything and using granite would cause the vibrations of the mantras to resonate at a higher level," Krishnan said, adding that the granite structure follows the precise design formulas defined by southern Indian temple builders thousands of years ago.

He added that the Sri Sundararaja Perumal temple would be 15m high including a dome and copper crown. The first shipment of seven, 40ft containers of pillars weighing at least three tonnes will be brought in soon for assembling, Krishnan said.

R. Selvanathan, the chief executive officer of the Chennai-based Sri Vaidyanatha Sthapati Associates - an architect, sculptor and building firm - said the all-granite temple project was a rarity even in India where granite has yielded to concrete and steel. (ANI)