Sri Layan Sithi Vinayagar Temple

The Sri Layan Sithi Vinayagar Temple, located on Keong Saik Road in Chinatown, is a century old. Since it was located in the Sepoy Lines area, which was a military settlement, it was called the ‘Line’ Sithi Vinayagar Temple and later ‘line’ morphed into ‘layan’, and it became popularly known as the ‘Layan Sithi Vinayagar Temple’. It is one of two temples managed by the Chettiars’ Temple Society. It is believed that one Ponnambalam founded it as a small shrine under a tree near the Singapore General Hospital. Hindus working in the areas adjacent to Outram Road worshipped there. Later, the Nattukottai Chettiar community took over its administration. When the site was acquired by the government in 1920 for the expansion of the hospital, the temple was relocated to its present location in 1925, and the first consecration ceremony was performed then. At that time, a new Ganesha idol was installed in the sanctum sanctorum alongside the old one.

After half a century, the temple underwent renovation, and a second consecration was performed in 1975. In 1979, a third Ganesha idol was installed in the sanctum sanctorum. In 2007, the temple underwent another renovation at a cost of $3.5 million, which included expansions such as a five-tiered Rajagopuram (Main Tower) and a wedding hall that can accommodate 120 people. Ten years later, a two-tiered building was constructed adjacent to the temple to accommodate special worship services and other events for devotees. Additional development work was carried out for the consecration ceremony in 2019, which was attended by 15,000 people. On the day of Thaipusam, a religious festival dedicated to the deity Murugan, the younger brother of Vinayagar, it is customary to perform a special ceremony (Vel Puja) for the divine spear (Vel), the symbolic weapon of Murugan, at the Sri Layan Sithi Vinayagar Temple and take the spear to the Sri Thendayuthapani Temple on Tank Road. Over time, the Sri Layan Sithi Vinayagar Temple has become a place of worship not only for Hindus but also for people of other faiths and ethnicities. 



For more information
Sri Layan Sithi Vinayagar Temple. “ Accessed on 1 August 2025. https://sttemple.com/about-lsv/
“Sri Layan Sithi Vinayagar Temple.” Roots.sg. Accessed on 1 August 2025. https://www.roots.gov.sg/places/places-landing/Places/surveyed-sites/Sri-Layan-Sithi-Vinayagar-Temple
Goh Yan Han. “Rain Does Not Dampen Fervour of 15,000 Devotees at Hindu Temple Consecration Ceremony.” The Straits Times, 15 December 2019. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/rain-does-not-dampen-fervour-of-15000-devotees-at-hindu-temple-consecration-ceremony 

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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.