Sri Holy Tree Balasubramaniar Temple

The Holy Tree Sri Balasubramaniar Temple is over 60 years old, having originated as an open altar under a tree with a mystical origin story.

In 1962, a Hindu dockyard worker named P Karuppiah is said to have had a dream about the Hindu deity Lord Murugan and a golden cobra under a jujube tree. He apparently found the tree of his dream near Canberra Road and set up an altar beneath it. The simple altar contained a spear and pictures of several Hindu deities, including Lord Murugan. Initially, the tree and its makeshift altar served as a place of worship for dockyard workers from the former Sembawang Naval Base. Eventually, a wooden shed was built.

In 1964, the shrine was registered as ‘Punithamaram Sree Balasubramaniar Temple’. Punithamaram in Tamil means holy tree, and ‘Sree Balasubramaniar’ is one of many titles of Lord Murugan. Devotees raised the funds to build a temple of a concrete structure, which was consecrated in 1971. In the 1990s, the temple had to relocate to make way for Sembawang New Town. During this relocation, two other temples, the Karumariamman Temple and Ucchipillaiyar Temple, which were located about 150 meters apart on Upper Bukit Timah Road, merged with the Holy Tree Sri Balasubramaniar Temple. When Canberra Road was redeveloped, the temple relocated once again to its present site in 1996. The temple was later redeveloped, and the current building was consecrated in 2018. 

It continues to serve primarily the residents of Sembawang and Yishun. However, during Panguni Utthiram, an annual festival where devotees participate in a chariot and foot procession, it attracts island-wide participation. This temple is one of the few in Singapore that hold this festival. The Holy Tree Sri Balasubramaniar Temple also serves as a centre for community activities such as devotional singing classes.



For more information
“Holy Tree Sri Balasubramaniar Temple.” Roots.sg. Accessed on 1 August 2025. https://www.roots.gov.sg/places/places-landing/Places/landmarks/Sembawang-Heritage-Trail---From-Dockyard-to-Shipyard/Holy-Tree-Sri-Balasubramaniar-Temple
Karthigesu, Thangamma. "Yishun Sembawang Heritage Trail". National Heritage Board. Accessed on 1 August 2025. https://www.nhb.gov.sg/~/media/nhb/files/places/trails/yishun%20sembawang/yishun%20sembawang.pdf
“Hindu temples merge to build shrines on new sites.” The Straits Times, 24 January 1994, 19. (From Newspaper SG)

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The information in this article is valid as of August 2025 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. If you have any feedback on this article, please submit here.