Temples in Ho Chi Minh

Last Saturday evening i was reading lonely planet book on Ho Chi Minh city, the description of the hindu temple struck me and i resolved to visit the three temples on Sunday (12/07/08)


I took the local Xeom (motor bike) which is the local transport, its the fastest and cheapest way to get around the city. Their are 3 million motor bikes in Ho Chi Minh city, and the numbers keep growing each day as more and more people come to HCMC from various provinces of Vietnam.

The Hindu temples in Ho Chi Minh City are over 100 years. In the late 19th century, the Tamils came from Pondicherry constructed the Mariammam Temple with a raja goopuram(grand temple dome). Similarly, in mid 20th century Nagartars built two Hindu temples, namely Sri Thendayutthapani Temple and Sunbramaniar Temple, using Indian craftsmen, builders and sculptors. Similar to the ancient temples in India, these temples followed the principles of traditional temple building. All three temples have large sized halls (mandapams) and inner and outer circumferences. All three temples are in close proximity to each other.
April 1975, after the reunification, the socialist government of Vietnam shut the places of worship, including the Hindu temples. Some temples premises were used as factories. I was told that the flat-roof of one Hindu temple was used to dry fish for export. The temples lost all its valuable jewelleries. Around 1993, the temples re-opened for worship as the result of the negotiations between India and Vietnam at the diplomatic level. In one temple, the flags of India and Vietnam are at the entrance, to reinforce the friendship between these two countries.
Caretakers, appointed by the Vietnamese authorities, manage the Hindu temples. The appointments are subject to annual renewal.

The priest of Mariamma temple

There are no priests in these temples to conduct regular pujas in a proper manner. The caretakers or their assistants are acting as priests in chanting slokas and performing arati. The devotees receive vibuthi and prasadam (mostly fruit, sor some sugar candy). It is against the temple regulations to accept money directly from the devotees. However, the devotees can make donation into the till box. Since there is no external financial support to the temples, all temple expenses are met from the till collection.
The Mariamman Temple enjoys a healthy income. Many locals believe in the sacred power of Mariamman and regularly coming to this temple. Other two temples are struggling to meet the expenses due to poor attendance. Sometimes, the Indians expatriate community collects funds to meet the needs of these temples. Mariamman temple is known as Chua Ba Mariamman in Vietnamese, is also considered sacred by many ethnic-Vietnamese and ethnic-Chinese. Indeed, it is reputed to have miraculous powers. The temple is dedicated to the Hindu Goddess Mariamman.
The lion (Simma Vahanam) to the left of the entrance used to be carried around Saigon in a street procession every autumn. In the shrine in the middle of the temple is Mariamman, flanked by her guardians - Maduraiveeran (to her left) and Pechiamman (to her right). In front of the figure of Mariamman are two lingas. Favourite offerings placed nearby often joss sticks, jasmine, lilies and gladioli. Their are wooden stairs, on the left as you enter the building, lead to the roof, where one can find two colourful towers covered with innumerable figures of lions, goddesses and guardians. The main deity of this temple is Goddess Mariamman, another aspect of Parvathi. As the mother of universe, Parvathi is amma and prayed as Universal Mother. In addition, At the outer hall, Parvati's sons Ganesha and Muruga are on her right and left, respectively. The Rajagopuram of this temple is about 12m high with a number of statues. Colourful statues of Amman, Luxshmi, Ganesha, Muruga, angels and dancing girls decorate the entrance of the inner hall.





It is an unforgettable experience for to visit the three Hindu temples in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. These beautiful temples are the treasures of the Hindus. Since the Indian population is not large enough, these temples are struggling to meet the maintenance expenses. Most of the devotees visiting these temples are Vietnamese. There is no official financial support to these temples and there are no priests in these temples. It is the responsibility of the Hindu community in Vietnam to look after these temples. The political set-up in Vietnam is different to other countries and this has some effect on temple management.
With the Divine powers of Lord Muruga and Divine Mother Mariamma I have no doubt that these temples will flourish in the future. All Hindus must pay a visit to these temples in Vietnam whenever they get the opportunity to go to Vietnam.




Click on the below link for more picture of my temple visit:
http://picasaweb.google.com/keyur.trivedi/VisitToMariamaTemple#