The largest temple of its sort in North America is located in Richmond Hill, close to Toronto, Canada! This is the location of an assembly of Hindu deities, cared for in a very traditional manner by highly trained and committed priests, reminiscent of some of the well-known temples in Sri Lanka and South India. The Richmond Hill Temple is really three temples in one as each of the three gods has a large altar (called a “moola sthaana”) and distinct towers that are visible from the outside. Prior to construction, the temple was intended to be a siva-vishnu temple with two major altars: one dedicated to Sri Muruga and the other to Sri Venkateshwara. The image of Lord Ganesa was the first to come since it is usual to have a Lord Ganesa’s altar initially in order to keep the temple project going ahead properly. The main complex was developed and construction started in 1987–1988 with a large number of volunteers supporting the project, which led to a notable decrease in costs. On July 2, 1988, the installation of Lord Muruga in his current residence marked the beginning of the main temple’s services. The renowned Mr. V. Janakiramana Sathapathi, who comes from the same family of architects that constructed the renowned Big Temple at Tanjavur, South India, during the Chola period, was responsible for the entire design. With the guidance and counsel of several religious authorities and experts, including the senior sankaracharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, he had planned and assisted in the construction of the temple with his team of sculptors. The exquisite artwork’s magnificence and beauty are indescribable and can only be understood via a firsthand seeing and experience. According to reports, the Richmond Hill Temple Complex is the biggest Hindu temple in North America, constructed and operated in accordance with the agama sastra traditions as prescribed by the scriptures.
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