The Kadavul Hindu Temple is a
Jaffna-Style Hindu temple dedicated to the
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hin ...
located on the
Kauai island in the state of
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...
, USA. It is maintained by the
Saiva Siddhanta Temple which is also known as
Kauai Aadheenam or Kauai's Hindu Monastery.
Description
Kadavul is an ancient
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nati ...
word for God, meaning “He who is both immanent and transcendent.” Kadavul Temple was established in 1973 by
Sivaya Subramuniyaswami
Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (born Robert Hansen; January 5, 1927 – November 12, 2001) was an American Hindu religious leader known as Gurudeva by his followers. Subramuniyaswami was born in Oakland, California and adopted Hinduism as a young man ...
. It is one of two temples in
Kauai Aadheenam. Other temple is
Iraivan Temple
The San Marga Iraivan Temple is a Chola-style Hindu temple dedicated to the Lord Shiva located on the Kauai island in the state of Hawaii, USA. "Iraivan" means "He who is worshipped," and is one of the oldest words for God in the Tamil language ...
. It houses 39-inch-tall
Crystal Sivalingam that will one day be the central icon in
Iraivan Temple
The San Marga Iraivan Temple is a Chola-style Hindu temple dedicated to the Lord Shiva located on the Kauai island in the state of Hawaii, USA. "Iraivan" means "He who is worshipped," and is one of the oldest words for God in the Tamil language ...
. It's
Crystal Sivalingam is believed to be the largest six-sided, single-pointed crystal ever found. In future Crystal Sivalingam will housed in the Iraivan Temple. Kadavul Temple is located next to the
Wailua River and 8 km from
Mount Waialeale.
Crystal Sivalingam is a 320 kg, 39-inch-tall, uncut
quartz
Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica ( silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical ...
crystal, believed to be the largest six-sided, single-pointed crystal ever found.
Gallery
File:Kadavul tandavas.jpg, 108 Karanas of Shiva's Tandava
Tandava (also spelled as ) also known as , is a divine dance performed by Hindu god Shiva. Shiva is depicted as dancing the Tandava in his form of Nataraja.
The ''Natya Shastra'', a Sanskrit treatise on the performing arts describes various ...
File:Kadavul Temple Outside.jpg, Kadavul temple Outside
See also
*
Sivaya Subramuniyaswami
Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (born Robert Hansen; January 5, 1927 – November 12, 2001) was an American Hindu religious leader known as Gurudeva by his followers. Subramuniyaswami was born in Oakland, California and adopted Hinduism as a young man ...
*
Bodhinatha Veylanswami
Bodhinatha Veylanswami (born October 15, 1942 in Berkeley, California) is a Hindu sannyasin monk and a religious leader, who is the head of Kauai's Hindu Monastery and publisher of Hinduism Today magazine. He is the 163rd head of the Nandinatha ...
*
Iraivan Temple
The San Marga Iraivan Temple is a Chola-style Hindu temple dedicated to the Lord Shiva located on the Kauai island in the state of Hawaii, USA. "Iraivan" means "He who is worshipped," and is one of the oldest words for God in the Tamil language ...
*
Saiva Siddhanta Church
References
{{Hindu temples in the United States
Hindu temples in Hawaii
Asian-American culture in Hawaii
Buildings and structures in Kauai County, Hawaii
Shiva temples
1973 establishments in Hawaii
Indian-American culture in Hawaii
Hinduism in the United States