
Sri Kandaswamy Temple
Ancient Saiva Hindu temple with three ornate Gopuram gateways, modelled on a Jaffna shrine.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Sri Kandaswamy Temple in Kuala Lumpur opens on Christmas Eve 1890, when Tamil railway workers from Sri Lanka gathered in a Brickfields house and resolved to build a temple modeled exactly on the Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil they had left behind in Jaffna. You'll hear how the three towering Gopuram gateways rose between 1901 and 1909, and how the temple's first priest kept the daily rituals going through Japanese air raids in the 1940s. Look up at the painted deities crowding the Gopuram above you as you listen.
This audio guide was created using AI.
Similar places
Sri Maha Mariamman Temple
Hindu temple founded in 1873, with a five-tiered carved gopuram and a silver Thaipusam chariot.
Little India Brickfields
Bustling Tamil district dense with Hindu temples, sari stalls, and fragrant street food.
Court Hill Sri Ganesar Temple
Hindu temple founded in 1897, with an ancient bael tree and a twice-daily sacred conch-shell ritual.
Batu Caves
Limestone cave complex housing ancient Hindu temples, topped by a towering golden deity statue.
Chan She Shu Yuen Clan Ancestral Hall
Clan ancestral hall of Cantonese design with gilded carvings and terracotta rooftop figures.
Buddhist Maha Vihara
Theravada Buddhist temple and community center, host to Malaysia's oldest annual Wesak procession.