The temple’s historical records do not show of any kumbabishegam (consecration) ceremony having been conducted prior to the first one which was held in June 1936. In the last hundred years, the original temple structure under went several redevelopment phases. It was rebuilt in the 1930s and repaired and restored with elaborate proliferation of sculptures in the 1960s. The original gopuram (grand tower entrance) was constructed in the late 1800’s but did not contain much ornamental works. It was only in 1962, one hundred and nineteen years later that a new temple structure was developed complete with intricate sculptural works reminiscent of temple architecture in India. In 1843, a building made of plaster and brick was put up for the first time. It is an interesting fact that this deity can be found in the main sanctum of the present day temple. “Sinna Amman” a small deity of Sri Mariamman was installed by Mr Naraina Pillai in 1827 when the temple was first built. The South Bridge site where the temple currently stands (in the Chinatown area) was finally granted to Mr Pillai in 1823.īy 1827 a temple structure made of wood and attap was built at South Bridge Road. Due to changes in colonial town planning, the Stamford Canal site was not made available. However, as it had no convenient source of fresh water needed for rituals, Colonel William Farquhar (appointed the first British Resident and Commandant of Singapore, from 1819-1823), allowed Mr Pillai to occupy an alternative plot near what is today’s Stamford Canal in 1821. The East India Company’s original allotment of land for a Hindu Temple was along Telok Ayer Street. Mr Pillai who set up the first brick kiln in Singapore, rapidly established himself in business and was identified as a leader of the Indian community. Mr Pillai is known to have accompanied Sir Stamford Raffles (Founder of Singapore) on his second visit to the island in 1819. The building of Sri Mariamman Temple was the inspiration of Mr Naraina Pillai, a clerk with the British East India Company in Penang. Located in the heart of Chinatown, the temple’s ornamental tower entrance or gopuram, has been a landmark to generations of Hindu worshippers and Singaporeans alike.
The temple is dedicated to Goddess Mariamman, known for her power in curing epidemic illnesses and diseases. Built in 1827, Mariamman Kovil or Kling Street Temple as it was popularly known then was constructed for worship by immigrants from the Nagapatnam and Cuddalore districts of South India. This temple located in Punnai Nallur, which is popularly known as Mariamman Kovil, Thanjavur and it is 5 km from Thanjavur Old Bus stand.Sri Mariamman Temple is the oldest Hindu temple in Singapore. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu. The Great saint Sadhasiva Brammendra swamy shaped the white-ant hill (Putru) into a form of Mariamman and also installed a powerful Chakra. Originally the Amman was in the form of white-ant hill (Putru). It is said that the daughter of Tulaja Raja (1729–35) of Tanjore, who lost her eyesight in an illness, regained it on offering worship at this temple. Ī temple was constructed at the place and the idol installed and so the deity of this temple is known as Punnainallur Mariamman. The King lost no time in rushing to the spot indicated to him and recovered the idol from the jungle. In the year 1680, when the Maharashtra king Venkoji Maharaja Chatrapati (1676–1688) of Tanjore was on a pilgrimage at Samayapuram, where there is a famous temple dedicated to Kali, Mariamman appeared to the King in his dream and told him -that she (the idol) was in a forest of Punna trees at a distance of about 3 miles from Tanjore.