SINGAPORE, June 8, 2025 (Straits Times): More than 20,000 devotees gathered to witness the consecration of the Sri Sivan Temple on June 8. The Geylang East temple, one of the oldest Hindu temples in Singapore, has a history that dates back to the 1800s. The event was attended by the Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam. Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the event, the ceremony’s guest of honour said: “Today’s consecration ceremony is very significant. This temple itself has a very special place in the heart of the Hindu community in Singapore.”

Devotees began streaming into purpose-built tents outside the temple from 7am, waiting eagerly for the main event – a Maha Kumbhabishegam (“grand consecration” in Sanskrit). It refers to the process of pouring sanctified water from vessels on the roof of the temple. These vessels, called kumbhams, are filled with holy water and have been energised through chanting over seven consecutive days of sacred Sanskrit mantras. From around 7.30am, chants and traditional music filled the air as a procession of priests holding pots of sacred water headed to the roof of the temple. Thousands of devotees followed the elaborate proceedings via large screens showing a multi-camera live stream of the priests pouring purified water, which cascaded from 22 golden “kalasams” or pinnacles at the peak of the temple structure. This was the third such consecration for the temple, which started on a parcel of land in Orchard Road in 1868, then relocated to temporary premises in 1983, before moving to its current location in Geylang East in 1993.

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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/over-20000-devotees-attend-sri-sivan-temple-consecration-crowds-almost-break-through-barricades

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