Shiva Vishnu Temple of South Florida

n 1996 we embarked upon building a traditional Dravidian (South Indian) style temple under the guidance of chief architect Dr. Ganapati Sthapati of Chennai India, a well-known temple builder of international repute. After obtaining the proper permits the construction began in April 1999. Twelve shilpis from Mahabalipuram, India arrived in April 2000 to start Indianization of the temple. The temple complex has two new buildings. The front building is the traditional temple building with two Raja Gopurams (entrance towers) and two Vimana Gopurams (towers) over each of the main Shiva and Vishnu Garbagrahas ( Shrines). The total area of the temple is approximately 6200 Sq Feet. The temple’s architectural style belongs to Chola, and Pallava dynasty period (10th century) for Shiva and Parivar shrines, and Vijayanagara dynasty period (12th century) for Venkateshwara and Parivar shrines. The Ayyappa shrine is built according to the Kerala style of architecture. The second building in the back is the community hall, which was inaugurated in April of 2001. It has a seating capacity for 300 people and is available for rent for weddings, various celebrations and cultural activities. Mahakumbhabhishekam and Pranaprathishtapana of our new temple was celebrated during November 23 to 25 of 2001 and is now open to the public. We have four well-trained priests from India conducting daily services in the tradition of Shiva Agama and Pancharathra Agama. The temple is located in Broward County, which is located in South Florida.