6300 Princess Garden Parkway, Lanham, MD

20706. 3015524889, www.muruganTemple.org

THE MURUGAN TEMPLE RAJAGOPURAM PROJECT
It is with the grace of Lord
Murugan that we have been
making steady progress on the
construction of the Rajagopuram
tower. The five-tier structure is
taking shape with the brick work
nearing completion. The next part of the construction
of the tower will involve plastering the whole
structure followed by adding ornamental temple
architecture. The timeline is short; we hope to have
this completed before old man winter arrives in
Maryland. Padmasri M. Muthiah Sthapathi is our
Temple's chief architect who designs and leads the
Indian temple architecture at the Temple. According
to him, the overall configuration of our temple is
similar to 'Somaskandar' architecture: inside the
prayer hall, we see Lord Siva on the right (facing the
devotees when they pray), Lord Murugan in the
(Continued on page 2)
NAVARATHRISEPT 24
TH
OCT 2
ND
Mark your calendars for the grand Navarathri
celebrations at the Murugan Temple from Sept 24
th
to Oct 2
nd
. The major highlights of the Navarathri
celebrations are the special Alankarams to Meenakshi
Amman on each of the nine days and the Kolu.
The daily events also include Special Abhishekam to
Goddess Meenakshi in the mornings and recitation of
Sri. Lalitha Sahasranama Archana in the evenings.
Chandi Homam will be performed on Oct 1
st

Durgashtami. Oct 2
nd
is the Saraswati Puja and Oct
3
rd
is Vijayadasami. Please join us for all the
celebrations.
Rajagopuram Project 1,2,4,5
Nallur Festival 2,3
Navarathri and other forthcoming events 1,3,7
The Board of Trustees 2014-2015 6
Abhinaya Mala 7
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center and Goddess Parvathi Devi on the left. This
special configuration is inviting to all devotees who
receive Lord Murugan's blessings every day. Thiru
Muthiah Sthapathi is meticulous in designing the
configuration according to vasthu sastra and Agama
sastra.
We have ten silpis (temple artisans, specially trained
in South Indian temple architecture; see picture on
page 8) from Chennai working diligently to complete
the Temple
Rajagopuram
and the interior
of the prayer
hall. On the
north side of
the interior, six
of the sixteen Anivetti pillars are nearly completed;
the work on the south-side pillars continues. Dr. Siva
Sri Pitchai Gurukkal of Pilliarpatti and the MTNA
priests performed Brammaranthra puja on Sept 24
th

2014 to signal the successful completion of the tower
brick work and the start of ornamental work from top
tier.
The team of silpis is
under the leadership of
Sri M. Srinivasan
Sthapathi, a trained
temple architect and
the son of Sri Muthiah
Sthapathi. Some of
the silpis have been part of the team for over 25 years
and there are some who have put in about 10 year
experience under the tutelage of the chief architect.
The work of the silpis is meticulous, time-demanding
and quite detailed as we can judge from the
construction that is shaping up in the Temple.
May Lord Murugan guide us along so we can
successfully complete the Rajagopuram Project and
celebrate the grand Mahakumbhabishekam in 2015!
Sridharan Iyengar,
President, Executive Committee, MTNA.
(Continued from page 1)
NALLUR FESTIVAL AT MTNA
This year the Nallur Ther (chariot) Festival
at our Murugan Temple in the Washington DC metro
was ushered in on August 8 and 9 during the 25-day
Festival at the Nallur temple in Jaffna, Sri Lanka for
Nallur Kanthan. Our festival was well attended, with
devotee count reaching over a thousand on the second
day. Devotees primarily from out of town areas and
the Greater Washington area reached Lanham,
Maryland by car and coach by the afternoon of Aug
7. They prepared the Ther for its ride, cleaned and
decorated the Temple and got ready for the
Annadhanam (free food distribution) on the second
day of the grand Nallur festival.
As always, the first day was devoted to
Homams and Abhishekams in the morning for
Ganapati and Subramaniyar. A large number of
devotees sponsored the Homams and the
Abhishekams. The evening was devoted to Ganapati
Sahasranamam and Ganapathi Urvalam (Procession
of Lord Ganesha within the Temple).
The second day of the Festival started
with Mela Thalam performed by a troupe of six
Nathaswaram and Thavil from Yarlpanam (Jaffna)
and some artists from Canada, all of Yarlpanam
origin. The day began with Ganapati Puja followed
by preparation of Sethil Kavadi and those carrying
Pal Kudam. It was a great sight to see the Kavadigal
dancing to the beat of the Mela Thalam and to the
chorus - 'Arohara, Arohara' by those carrying the Pal
kudam.
The Temple Chief Priest Siva Sri Kalyana Ganesa
Bhattar performed the
Pal Abhishekam to
Moolavar Vigraham of
Lord Murugan
followed by a
Religious Discourse by
Satguru Bodhinatha
Veylanswami and Bhajans during the Alankaram of
Moolavar together with Valli and Theivaiyanai.
(Continued on page 3)
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Sangalpam was then offered to all the devotees
responsible for conducting the Thiruvila. The Utsava
Moorthigal were then taken in procession within the
Ullpiragaram of the Temple to the Nathaswara Beat
in Ragam Malari. At the Veli Piragaram, the Utsava
Moorthigal were mounted on a wooden Simmasanam
and taken to the Ther with the deities riding on the
shoulders of the
devotees to chanting
of devotional hymns
and music.
At the auspicious hour,
Utsava Moorthigal were taken up the Ther. To the
chanting of 'Arohara, Arohara' the Ther was pulled
by devotees along the entire perimeter of the Temple,
followed by those
carrying the Kavadi.
The Devotees went in
procession chanting
Thevarams. Along the
sides of the perimeter
were banners depicting
the Six Houses of Lord Muruga (Arupadaiveedu).
The Ther was brought to rest after a ride around the
perimeter lasting about two hours. Only after the
Ther was brought to rest, were Archanas allowed. It
lasted about a few hours. Then, the Utsava
Moorthigal were dressed in green and taken in
procession into the Temple. Once the devotees
enjoyed Annadhanam, the stage was then set for the
Thiru Kalyanam. It
was conducted on a
similar note as a
wedding.
At the conclusion of
the divine wedding,
special Prasatham was distributed, and Kalanji
offered to those privileged to conduct the Festival.
By
Kanagasabai Loganathan.
(Continued from page 2)
KANDA SASHTI MAHOTSAVAM
Please join us for the grand Kanda Sashti
celebrations along with your family and friends at the
Murugan Temple from Oct 24
th
to 29
th
and
Tiruchendur Vetri Vizha on Nov 2
nd
. The festive
celebrations include special Abhishekams,
Alankarams and Soora Samharam. Kanda Sashti, the
Shukla Sashti thiti (6
th
day of the waxing cycle) in
the Tamil month of Aippasi is the auspicious day on
which Lord Muruga vanquished the demons
Tarakasura, Simhamukhan and Soorapadman. Refer
to the calendar for more details.
KARTHIGAI DEEPAM
Karthigai Deepam festival will be celebrated on a
grand scale at the Murugan Temple of Dec 5
th
and on
the 6
th
as Swami Malai Guru Vizha. The highlight is
the beautiful decoration of the Temple interior with
many Deepams. Refer to the Temple calendar for
more details.
RUDRA HOMAM
The annual Rudra
Homam was
conducted at the
Murugan Temple on
Sept 6
th
to coincide
with the auspicious
Sani Pradosham. More than 13 Ritwiks and priests
performed 11 rounds of Rudra Japam followed by
Homam and Poornahuti. The vibrations from the
recitation of Rudram by the Ritwiks was very
enriching and uplifted the ambience into a divine
ether. Following the Poornahuti, Kalasabhishekam
was done to Lord Siva
with consecrated waters.
More than 150 devotees
attended the function
and received the
blessings of Lord Siva.
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CHAIRMAN'S LETTER TO MURUGAN DEVOTEES
My dear fellow devotees of Lord Murugan,
With the blessings of Lord Murugan and the tireless
work of fellow devotees such as yourself who are
committed to the noble cause of the Murugan Temple
Rajagopuram Project, we are making significant progress.
The first phase of the construction of the Rajagopuram
tower and the Indianization of the interior are going well
under the leadership of Sri Muthiah Sthapathi and his group
of silpis from Tamil Nadu. This phase will be completed by
the end of 2014.
The second phase involving the construction of a
kitchen, a dining hall and interior decoration of the prayer
hall and a madapalli is scheduled to be completed in 2015.
We aim with all our efforts to celebrate Rajagopura Kumbhabishekam.
The cost estimate for the Rajagopuram and Temple
Expansion Project exceeds $4.2 million dollars. With the
unflinching support of Murugan devotees from all over the
US and India we have raised about $1.7 million thus far
and also acquired a bank loan of $1.5 million.
In the past 33 years your moral and financial
support has been of immense help for this noble cause. At
this critical juncture your continued financial support is
more important than ever. As his highness Variar Swamy
once said, if you give to Lord Murugan with your two
hands, He will shower His blessings on you with His
twelve hands throughout your life.
This year's fundraising goal is at least $500,000
before the end of 2014! We have planned a Gala
Fundraiser Event for the Rajagopuram Project on Saturday, November 15, 2014 at Laurel, Maryland. Please see
the information flyer on the next page and try to attend the event.
If you live away from Washington DC area, please try to arrange a Fundraiser event at your place for
Lord Murugan.
Please donate generously to Lord Murugan. Thank you for your consistent financial and moral support.

May Lord Murugan Bless
you and your family!

Dr. Gopal Guruswamy
Chairman,
Board of Trustees.
L to R: Srinivasan Sthapathi, Gopal Guruswamy,
Muthiah Sthapathi, Siva Sri Pitchai Gurukkal and
Sri Ganesa Gurukkal
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6
THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF 2014-2015
The following are the members of the Board of Trustees.
Dr. Gopal Guruswamy ( Chairman)
Dr. Krishnan Ramaswamy (Co-Chairman)
Mr. Vijay Kandaswamy (Secretary)
Mr. Ramu Arumugam
Dr. Sridharan Iyengar
Mr. Sivakumar Kareesan
Mrs. Suseela Krishnan
Dr. Seenivasan Lakshmipathi
Mrs. Saraswathi Ranganathan
Mrs. Avayam Shankar
Dr. Mouna Selvam
Dr. Manimekalai Saravanan
Mrs. Puvaneswary Satchithanandam
On August 9, 2014 the Board of Trustees of MTNA voted to appoint Dr. Sridharan Iyengar as the President of the
Executive Committee of the temple for a two-year position. Under this administrative leadership, Dr. Iyengar will make efforts to
bring in volunteers to join the team to make improvements in every day operation of the Temple. The current officers of the
Executive Committee are:
Dr. Sridharan S. Iyengar President
Ms. Puvaneswary Satchithanantham Vice President
Dr. Manimekalai Saravanan Secretary
Ms. Avayam Shankar Treasurer
Ms. Suseela Krishnan Joint Treasurer
Mr. Ezhil Govindasamy Joint Secretary
It is expected that some reorganization at the officers level will take place in the next few months, subject to approval of the Board
of Trustees. The following are the various committees that operate under the guidance of the Executive Committee. The current
chairs of some of the committees are:
Religious Committee Ms. Puvaneswary Satchithanantham
Cultural and Entertainment Committee Mr. Sivakumar Kareesan
Food Committee Mr. Saravanan Seetharaman
Fundraising Committee Dr. Mouna Paneer Selvam
IT Committee Mr. Venkatt Guhesaan
Publications Committee Mr. VidyaRamanan Ganesan
Public and Community Relations Committee Dr. Kalpana Ramiah
Infrastructure Committee Mr. Suresh Packirisamy
The Executive Committee officers and committee chairs are all volunteers serving Lord Murugan and His devotees. The
various committee chairs are looking to strengthen the committee work by enlisting volunteers to serve with them. If you are
interested in joining any MTNA committee please contact the following people:
Dr.Sridharan Iyengar sridar227@gmail.com
Dr. Manimekalai mani.saravanan@lycos.com
Dr. Kalpana Ramiah kramiah@gmail.com
Feel free to contact the Executive Committee members to share your thoughts and ideas for the improvement of our temple.
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The Murugan Temple of North America is a
traditional Hindu Temple. It has a floor area of 7000
sq. ft with main sannidhi for Murugan (Karthikeya)
and 5 sannidhis for Vinayaka (Ganesha), Durgai
Amman, Siva, Meenakshi Amman and Palani
Andavar. We also have an auditorium that is
available for community use.
SANI PEYARCHI - NOV 4
TH
The Murugan Temple will conduct Navagraha
Homam and Navagraha Abhishekam on Sani
Peyarchi, Sunday, Nov 4
th
. Please refer to the Temple
calendar for more details. Please participate with
family and friends and receive Lord Murugans and
Navagrahas blessings.
COMBINED FEDERAL CAMPAIGN
Federal employees can make year-end contributions
to the Murugan Temple of North America. The
CFC# for the Temple is 69386.
NEW YEAR EVE DEC 31
ST
2014 - TEMPLE OPEN TILL MIDNIGHT BAJANS AND SPECIAL PUJAS
OUR GRATITUDE
The MTNA management wishes to extend its
warmest and most sincere gratitude to all devotees
and contributors.
Please bring own Vilakku if possible
Rajagopuram Silpis
Front Row: Ammaiappan, Srinivasan Sthapathi, Panneerselvam
Back Row: Murugesan, Sivasubramanian, Nagarajan, Subramanian, Annamalai, Mohan and AlaguPandian