Ayyappa Vigraham Installed in Glen Allen, Virginia

    Ayyappa devotees in the Washington Metro area are blessed with two places to worship the Lord; at Sri Siva Vishnu Temple (Lanham, MD) and at the Rajdhani Mandir (Chantilly, VA). With the Lord’s blessing, on November 7, 2010, Richmond area devotees came together to install Ayyappa Vigraham in the new Richmond temple called the Hindu Center of Virginia.

    Devotees from DC area travelled to Richmond early in the morning to take part in the festivities. The rituals of Ayyappa Pratistapanam were performed in the Kerala tantric style by Sri Karianur Divakaran Nampoothiri (erstwhile priest of SSVT and Melsanthi at Sri Guruvayoorappan Temple, Kerala). Ayyappa deity was brought out and Kalasha puja started promptly at 8 AM. The deity was installed after elaborate pujas, vedic chanting and bhajana at about 9:30 AM. KHNA members in the Richmond area planned to have special Ayyappa pujas and bhajans every month.