Sri Mahamariamman Temple in Kuala Lumpur
Tucked away in Jalan Bandar at the edge of Chinatown, Kuala Lumpur, is the extravagantly decorated and colorful temple of Sri Mahamariamman. Founded in 1873, making it the oldest functioning Hindu temple in Malaysia, the temple has been through plenty of restoration and embellishment until being consecrated in 1973. It soon becomes an important place of worship for Tamils and now a popular attraction for visitors alike. The most outstanding feature of the temple is the impressive 5-tiered gopuram in the South Indian style. With the dramatic 22.9 m in height, this pyramid-shaped entrance gate is decorated with 228 colourful Hindu gods from the Ramayana’s scenes and intricate hand-painted motifs. Inside, you will also find a shrine of goddess Mariamman (also known as Parvati) and other shrines of the elephant-headed deity Ganesh and Lord Murugan as well.
