The Sri Ganesha Temple of Alaska is a

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hin ...

in Anchorage, Alaska. Inaugurated in 1999, it is the first Hindu temple in Alaska. Its main deity is

Ganesha Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva_(Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is ...

. The temple also has the sacred images of

Durga Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around c ...

and

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

History

In 1995, a group of local Hindus started worshipping together informally in

Downtown Anchorage Downtown Anchorage is a neighborhood in the U.S. city of Anchorage, Alaska. Considered the central business district of Anchorage, Downtown has many office buildings, cultural points of interest, shopping areas, as well as dining and nightlife ...

. American Hindu leader

Sivaya Subramuniyaswami Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (born Robert Hansen; January 5, 1927 – November 12, 2001) was an American Hindu religious leader known as Gurudeva by his followers. Subramuniyaswami was born in Oakland, California and adopted Hinduism as a young ...

donated a Ganesha

murti In the Hindu tradition, a ''murti'' ( sa, मूर्ति, mūrti, ) is a devotional image such as a statue, or "idol" (a common and non-pejorative term in Indian English), of a deity or saint. In Hindu temples, it is a symbolic icon. T ...

to the group, and on June 25, 1999, formally established the Sri Ganesha Mandir in rented space in the Anchorage Church Of Religious Science. During the inauguration, local

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...

spiritual leaders and elders blessed the congregation with songs, chants, and drumming. Approximately forty Hindu pilgrims from outside the area also attended the event. In 2002, the temple moved to a temporary location on Blueberry Road. With donations from the local Hindu community and local construction magnate Jerry Neeser, in 2003 it purchased a property on Raspberry Road to become the temple's permanent home. The property was renovated, and several murtis were installed. The temple moved to and opened at its new location in 2011.

References

{{Hindu temples in the United States , state=expanded Hindu temples in Alaska Buildings and structures in Anchorage, Alaska Hinduism in the United States Religious buildings and structures completed in 2011 Religious organizations established in 2000 2000 establishments in Alaska Asian-American culture in Alaska Indian-American culture in Alaska