Iraivan Temple, Kauai's Hindu Monastery
इरैवन मंदिर, कौआई हिंदू मठ
📍 Kapaa, Kauai, Hawaii
🪔 Far away today? Offer an online puja to Mahadev →The first all-stone, hand-carved white granite temple in the Western Hemisphere, built over 33 years beside the Wailua River on Kauai and consecrated in 2023.
पश्चिमी गोलार्ध का पहला पूर्णतः पत्थर का, हाथ से तराशा श्वेत ग्रेनाइट मंदिर — कौआई द्वीप पर 33 वर्षों में बना, 2023 में प्रतिष्ठित।
इतिहास History
Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami envisioned Iraivan, Tamil for 'the One Above All', in 1975 and asked that it be built without machinery. From 1990, about 75 stone carvers at a site outside Bangalore cut more than 4,000 granite blocks by hand, and from 2001 the stones were shipped to Kauai and assembled.
Under his successor, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami, the temple was completed after 33 years and consecrated in March 2023. It took some 3.2 million pounds of Indian granite, and its murti is a rare six-faced clear quartz lingam weighing about 700 pounds.
दर्शन की जानकारी Before you go
- Hours
- Open every day, 9 am – noon, by reservation only: parking and entry to the monastery are booked in advance.
- Dress code
- Traditional Hindu dress is encouraged, or elegant clothing. No shorts, short dresses, tight yoga pants, T-shirts or tank tops; polo shirts and knee-length shorts are fine.
- Photos
- No photos or video inside Kadavul Temple; other areas may be photographed.
- Tours of Iraivan run 10:45 – 11:45 am on days a volunteer host is free, and need a 'Late Morning Front Grounds Access' or 'Temple Worship' reservation
- Inside Kadavul Temple, sit cross-legged and never stretch your feet towards the deity
- Follow Temple Lane and park where the signs show
From the temple’s official website, checked in October 2026. Hours change for festivals and seasons, so confirm on the temple’s site or by phone before you travel. General temple etiquette →
दर्शनीय Don’t miss
- The sphatika (crystal) Shivalingam
- A stone bell and chain carved from a single block
- Lion pillars, each with a stone ball that turns freely in the lion's mouth
- The monastery's older Kadavul Temple and its gardens beside the Wailua River
उत्सव Festivals
Photo: Shiv Sahil (शिव साहिल) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons