Shaivaite Hindu Priest Siva Sri Arumugam Paskarakurukkal | |
|---|---|
| சிவஸ்ரீ அருமுகம் பஷ்கரகுருக்கள் | |
 | |
| Notable work | Hindu Temple in Germany |
Siva Sri Arumugam Paskarakurukkal (Kurukkal meaning priest) is a German-based Sri Lankan Tamil priest and the present main priest of the Sri Kamadchi Ampal Temple in Hamm, the second largest Hindu temple in Europe.
He has brahmanic ancestors from Sri Lanka and learned some mantras from them.
In the year 1985, Paskaran fled towards Europe and was in Kanchipuram to learn about priesthood, because of the Sri Lankan Civil War.
He learned becoming a priest in Kamakshi Amman Temple in Kanchipuram. He learned to love Kamakshi Amman and so he began worshipping her.
| Sri Kamakshi Amman Temple Germany | |
|---|---|
ஸ்ரீ காமாக்ஷி அம்மன் கோவில் ஜேர்மனி | |
 | |
| Alternative names | Hindu Temple Hamm |
| General information | |
| Status | Completed |
| Type | Hindu Temple |
| Address | Siegenbeckstraße 5, 59071 Hamm |
| Town or city | Hamm |
| Country | Germany |
| Construction started | 1999 |
| Inaugurated | 2002 |
| Cost | 2,000,000 EUR |
| Owner | Siva Sri Arumugam Paskarakurukkal |
| Height | 17 m (56 ft) (gopuram) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor area | 729 m2 (7,850 sq ft) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Heinz-Rainer Eichhorst |
| Website | |
| kamadchi-ampal | |
As he arrived in West Germany, he applied for asylum. He could either stay in East Germany or West Germany. He chose West Germany in order to go to France, to his brother. When he got the train ticket towards France, he had nothing except the clothing he wore. In Train Station Hamm, he became hungry and thirsty, so he hopped off the train to search for food. He then found German strangers who bought him food, which later became his friends. He thinks this was a sign to stay in Germany.
His friends, the Vögedings took him into their apartment and he told them his story. He began working at a farm then worked as a dishwasher and servant in a restaurant. He learned German by interacting with the citizen. He built his first shrine in the basement of the apartment. As more and more people came to the pujas, it became louder and louder and disturbed the neighbours. He built a second shrine in an old laundry shop, which also disturbed neighbours and became too small.
He asked the Vögedings to help him. He wanted to build a Hindu temple in the industrial estate, as it is not so noisy there. But they did not know any architect to build it: so they opened up the telephone book and Paskaran took his finger and closed his eyes and pointed on a random name. It was: Heinz-Rainer Eichhorst. They called the architect and asked if he can build Hindu temples. Eichhorst said he could not and asked Paskaran to go to South India and visit the Kamakshi Amman Temple in Kanchipuram for 18 days to plan it. While Eichhorst was planning back home, Paskaran wanted to get married and found a woman in the refugee camp in Münster. Her name was Mathivani. Paskaran married her in 1994, where the Vögedings joined in as groomsmen. After that, Paskaran received the plans for the temple: around 4.000.000 DM (today: around 2.000.000 EUR). He could not afford it so he applied for loans. They were rejected because Paskaran had no safeties. So, he asked every person possible to donate. He raised the complete money. He bought a building ground at Siegenbeckstraße in Hamm and bought the house on the other street side to it. Eichhorst began constructing a small temporary temple right next to the house.
In 1999 the first stones were laid and in 2002 the consecration happened. Back then, the gopuram was uncoloured. In 2014 the gopuram was coloured.
Paskarakurukkal was attacked by five masked men in his house in Hamm-Uentrop on 9 November 2012. He and his family were tied with ropes. He was sprayed with pepper spray and was hit several times. 20 minutes after the robbers, who stole jewellery and money from the family, left the building, Paskarakurukkal's wife freed herself and called the police. The robbers also destroyed decorations and different sacred items in the nearby temple. There were no arrests.
Paskaran wanted to support Tamil and Hindu culture in Germany, so he is planning to build a culture center next to the temple. It is also build by Heinz-Rainer Eichhorst. It is a place for education and meditation. People can also celebrate festivals like weddings here. Non Hindus can also learn here about Hinduism in the library. The centre is still in construction. The construction started at the beginning of 2021.
The Hindu Funeral Site in Hamm offers Hindu funerals, as per German law it is not allowed to immerse cremated ashes into water, so they are buried.
Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, also called the Sri Kanchi Matham or the Moolamnaya Sarvagnya Peetham, is a Hindu religious center of Vedic learning, located in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. It is housed at the Kamakshi Amman Temple of the Shaktism tradition, which also contains a shrine for the Advaita Vedanta teacher Adi Shankara.
Temple cars or Temple chariots are used to carry representations of Hindu deities around the streets of the temple on festival days. These chariots are generally manually pulled by the devotees of the deity.
Seshadri Swamigal, also known as the "Saint with a Golden Hand", was an Indian holy man who was born in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. He lived in Tiruvannaamalai, where he attained samadhi.
The Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil is a Hindu temple, located in Nallur, Northern Province, Sri Lanka. The presiding deity is Murugan (Kartikeya) in the form of the divine spear vel in the sanctum, the primary shrine, and in other forms, namely, Shanmugar, Muthukumaraswami, Valli Kanthar with consorts Valli and Deivayanai, and Dandayuddhapani, sans consorts in secondary shrines in the temple.
The Kamakshi Amman Temple, also known as Kamakoti Nayaki Kovil, is a Hindu temple dedicated to the goddess Kamakshi, one of the highest aspects of Adi Parashakti, the supreme goddess in Shaktism. The temple is located in the historic city of Kanchipuram, near Chennai, India.
Varadharaja Perumal Temple, also called Hastagiri, Attiyuran,Attigiri, Kanchi koil, Thirukatchi, or Perumal koil is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu located in the city of Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the Divya Desams, the 108 temples of Vishnu believed to have been visited by the 12 poet saints, or the Alvars. It is located in a suburb of Kanchipuram known as the Vishnu Kanchi that is a home for many famous Vishnu temples. One of the greatest Hindu scholars of Vaishnava Vishishtadvaita philosophy, Ramanuja, is believed to have resided in this temple.
Hinduism is the fourth-largest religion in Germany. It is practised by around 0.1% of the population of Germany. As of 2017, there were approximately 130,000 Hindus living in the country.
Ekambareswarar Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Shiva, located in the town of Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu, India. It is significant to the Hindu sect of Saivism as one of the temples associated with the five elements, the Pancha Bhoota Stalas, and specifically the element of earth, or Prithvi. Shiva is worshiped as Ekambareswarar or Ekambaranathar or Rajlingeswaram, and is represented by the lingam as Prithvi lingam. His consort Parvati is depicted as Elavarkuzhali.
The Ashtabujakaram or Ashtabuja Perumal Temple located in Kanchipuram in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham, the early medieval Tamil canon of the Alvar saints from the 6th–9th centuries CE. It is one of the 108 Divya Desams dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Ashta Bhuja Perumal and his consort Lakshmi as Alamelumangai.
Karuppusamy, also known as Karuppu or Karuppannaswamy(Tamil: கருப்பண்ணசுவாமி Malayalam: കറുപ്പണ്ണസാമി ),(lit. 'Black God' or 'Black') is a Hindu god in Tamil Nadu, popular among the social groups of Tamil Nadu and Kerala and also Sri Lanka. He is one of 21 guardian deities of Ayyanar, and is one of 21 guardian deities in Dravidian folk religion.
Tirupavalavannam or Pavalavanam temple located in Kanchipuram in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham, the early medieval Tamil canon of the Alvar saints from the 6th–9th centuries CE. It is one of the 108 Divya Desams dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Pavalavannar Perumal and his consort Lakshmi as Pavalavalli.
Nainativu Nagapooshani Amman Temple [Tamil: நயினாதீவு நாகபூசணி அம்மன் கோயில், romanized: Nayiṉātīvu Nākapūcaṇi Am'maṉ Kōyil - Meaning: Nainativu ; Nagapooshani ; Amman (Goddess)] is an ancient and historic Hindu temple located amidst the Palk Strait on the island of Nainativu, Sri Lanka. It is dedicated to Parvati who is known as Nagapooshani or Bhuvaneswari and her consort, Shiva who is named here as Nayinaar. The temple seems to have been mentioned in the Brahmanda Purana. The temple complex houses four gopurams ranging from 20–25 feet in height, to the tallest being the eastern Raja Raja Gopuram soaring at 108 feet high. The temple is a significant symbol for the Tamil people, and has been mentioned since antiquity in Tamil literature, such as Manimekalai and Kundalakesi. The present structure was built during 1720 to 1790 after the ancient structure was destroyed by the Portuguese in 1620. The temple attracts around 1000 visitors a day, and approximately 5000 visitors during festivals. The annual 16-day Mahostavam (Thiruvizha) festival celebrated during the Tamil month of Aani (June/July) - attracts over 100,000 pilgrims. There is an estimated 10,000 sculptures in this newly renovated temple.
The Mangadu Kamakshi Amman Temple is a famous pilgrim destination Hindu temple dedicated to goddess Parvathi, located in Mangadu, a suburb of Chennai, India. The term Mangadu means "Mango Forests or Mango Groves" and as the term implies this must have been a thickly wooded Mango groove in times of yore.
Velleeswarar Temple is a Shiva temple located in Mangadu, a suburb of Chennai, India. This is a mid-size temple spread over 2 acres and is among the 3 principal temples in Mangadu – the other 2 being the Sri Kamakshi Amman Temple and Sri Vaikunda Perumal Temple. The temple is managed by the HRCE Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu. It is situated about 2 kilometers from Sri Kamakshi Amman Temple in Mangadu.
Tamil German or German Tamizhar refer to the German citizens of Tamil ethnic origins mainly from India in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry then Sri Lanka and Malaysia apart from other parts of the world. Tamil migration to Germany which was mainly composed of higher education and labor migrants increased in the late 1980s and onwards mainly due to the escalation of the Sri Lankan Civil War which saw tens of thousands of those belonging to the Tamil community fleeing the country and seeking asylum elsewhere abroad. The Tamil population figures in Germany currently range somewhere between 50,000-60,000. Karin Stoll is the consul general at the German Consulate in Chennai.
The Kumara kottam Temple is a Hindu temple in Kānchipuram, Tamil Nādu, India. It is dedicated to Lord Murugan, the Hindu war god and the son of the gods Shiva and his mother Pārvathi. The temple is also known as the Subramaniya Swāmi temple. The ancient temple was rebuilt in its present form in 1915 CE. The temple is one of the 21 major temples in Kānchipuram and is an important pilgrimage centre. Saint Aruna giri nādhar has sung hymns in praise of the Murugan icon of this temple.
Nilathingal Thundam Perumal temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu, located in Kanchipuram in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The temple is located in a shrine in Ekambareswarar Temple, the largest temple in the town of Kanchipuram, located in the northern part of the town. The temple gopuram is 59 m tall, which is one of the tallest gopurams in India.
Muthumariamman Temple or Arulmigu Sri Muthumari Amman Kovil is a Hindu temple in Matale, Sri Lanka.