Sri Meenakshi Temple Society was established in October 1977. The property
was purchased on June 20, 1978. Sri Ganesh temple was constructed and
inaugurated on Ganesh Chathurthi day in August 1979. Houston families took turns
and performed daily poojas.
University of Houston professor of architecture, Sri Ranjit Banerjee,
developed the initial master plan for the first five acre tract, which included
the main temple hall and Ganesh temple. The master plan was then updated by
Architect Sri Ashok Mungara, AIA, to include the over twenty-three acres that
MTS has acquired over the years, which now boasts an outer prakaram for the main
temple, priests quarters, kalyana mandapam, youth center, and a visitors center
The main temple schematic plans were drawn by Sri Ganapathi Stapathi and
further developed by Sri Muthai Stapathi. Sri Ashok Mungara developed the
architectural and engineering construction documents. Over twenty shilpis
(intricate stone artisans), headed by Sri Muthai Stapathi, constructed the main
temple with the help of Sri Ashok Mungara, who undertook the construction of the
building.
The Maha Kumbhabhishekam (inauguration) was performed in June 1982. The
deities at the main temple include Meenakshi, Sundareswara, and Venkateshwara,
were installed according the agamas and yantras. Nandi, Siva's vehicle, is
directly opposite to Siva. Garuda, Vishnu's vehicle, is directly opposite to
Venkateswara. Lakshmi, the companion of Vishnu, is the Goddess of wealth. She is
represented as Padmavati.
After 12 years, in June 1994, Ashtabhandhana was performed for the main
deities. The east Rajagopuram, three gopurams and four prakara temples with
sannadhis for Maha Ganapathi, Ayyappa, Subramanya Parivar, Ramar Parivar,
Anjaneeya, Radha-Krishna, Durga, Jyothi, Kannikaparameshwari, Navagraha,
Bairavar, Natarajar, and Sivakami were constructed in July 1995. The Maha
Kumbhabhishekam for the Rajagopuram and for prakara temples were performed on
July 16, 1995. The Kalyana Mandapam was inaugurated in July 1998. A few years
later in October 2003, MTS inaugurated the Youth Center, which boasts a kitchen
and library. Currently, MTS is completing the Visitors Center, which was
inaugurated in December 2009, and will include library /gift shop, temple
archives, meditation room, and the Ratham house. The newly built silver Ratham
will be used for procession during important Hindu festivals.
Listen to MTS Radio every Sunday from 10:30 AM to 11:00 AM on KILE AM 1560
Houston, TX and here on the web.
|