SUNNYVALE, CA: The Sunnyvale Hindu Temple, in the heart of Bay Area, catering to the religious and community needs of thousands of Sillicon Valley Indians, performed its Mahakumba Abhishekam on May 12.
The temple was started way back in April 1993 on a 3.15 acre land providing all amenities and facilities for holding religious, social and cultural gatherings. During early part of 2012 the temple Board of Trustee’s decided to rebuild the temple. The ground breaking ceremony was performed on March 23, 2012.
The temple team members went to India and hand picked the Vigrahas for the new temple under the guidance of religious leaders and priests. In all 32 new Vigrahas, first of their kind in Bay Area, were installed on May 12, at the new temple complex. The new complex has a temple covering with a seating capacity of over 998 people, community hall accommodating 1200 people, hall for senior citizens’ meditation, library, kitchen.
During the five day program spread from May 8 – May 12, various homas and pujas were performed. Ganapati pooja, Kalasa Sthapana, Ganapati homam, Jala adhivaasam, Rudra homam, Ksheera adhivaasam, Chandi homam, Navagraya, Sudharasana homam, Vigraha Prana pratishtha, Netra Unmeelanam, Maha Kumbha abhishekam, Maha mangala aarthi and Shanti Kalyanam were performed by Pandit Kambhampati Bala, Krishna Sharma, Pandit Srinivas Sastry Lanka, Pandit Ram Murti Sharma, Pandit Bhargava Sarma Marthi.
Amidst religious fervor, the holy ‘kudams’ containing the waters were taken from the ‘yagasalai’ and poured on the ‘kalasams’ of the shrine. A large number of devotees offered prayers all through the five days of grand celebration.
Musical concerts were performed by Padma Vibhushan Sri Dr M. Bala Murali Krishna on May 11 and by “Ghazal Samrat” Anup Jalota on May 12. Mangalampalli Balamurali Krishna enthralled the crowd with his divine compositions.
He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian honor, for his contribution towards Indian Art. He was made Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government in 2005. Dr Balamurali Krishna’s passion for innovation in Carnatic music mesmerized the audience during the two-hour concert. The venue was totally packed with over 1000 people.
The temple Board of Trustees Raj Bhanot, Naranji Patel, Balwant Birla, Hitesh Patel thanked the devotees for their contribution on raising funds for the construction, volunteers for their timeless effort and generous support of grand sponsors such as India cash and carry, Swagat India cuisine, Nut n spice and New India bazaar who were instrumental in the project. The board appealed for the community at large to donate generously and help the community.
Vidya Sethuraman
India Post News Service
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