The Vinayagar Temple on Ceylon Road in Singapore is one of the most spectacular places of worship I’ve ever seen, and that’s saying something in a city with hundreds of temples and shrines of many religions.
The temple is a center for a community of Tamil people with roots in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, and is dedicated to the Hindu god Ganesha, also known as Vinayaga (among a total of 108 different names). He is the god depicted with the head of an elephant and four arms, and is one of the most-worshiped Hindu deities.
The area where the temple is located and the name of the street are a reminder of its origins and population. The name of the temple reflects its origin story: In the 1850s, a statue of Lord Vinayagar was found on the bank of a pond, under the shelter of a Chempaka tree, whose name in Tamil is Senpaga.
A local Tamil resident, with help from others, built a shelter for the statue, covering it with a roof woven from attap leaves. That first temple became inadequate as the Tamil community grew; by 1909 there were 300 families, and they formed the Singapore Ceylon Tamils’ Association, which began planning for a grander temple.
ProfessorAbe and George G recognized the location of our One-Clue Mystery this week from the image above
The land for the present temple was purchased by SCTA in 1923, and by 1930, the new temple was ready for a major consecration. In addition to worship for Ganesha, it had shrines for Shiva, his father, and several other deities.
Between 1949 and 1955, major repairs were completed, restoring damage caused by a World War II bombing raid in 1942. During the reconstruction an extension was added that houses kitchens, a library and a wedding hall.
