Thrissur's Poonkunnam Temple to flaunt tallest single-stone Hanuman sculpture in South India

The tallest single-stone statue of Lord Hanuman in South India will soon come up in front of the Pushpagiri Agrahara Seetharama Swamy Temple at Poonkunnam in Thrissur district of Kerala. The Hanuman sculpture has a height of 35 feet and when placed on a pedestal of 20 feet, the total height would be 55 feet.

Work on the sculpture began four months ago at Allagadda, Nandyal in Andhra Pradesh and the other day, a religious ceremony was conducted there to separate the statue from the main rock. By the first week of April, the sculpture would be brought to the temple premises at Poonkunnam.

Long search for rock

A single rock suitable to chisel the Hanuman sculpture was identified after an elaborate search. Work to transform the rock into the statue was carried out by over 40 artisans of the Sri Bharathi Silpakala Mandir headed by noted sculptor V Subrahmaniam Acharyulu. The statue is in the form of the popular deity showering blessings with right hand and holding the mace with the left hand close to the legs.

Transport by trailer

The sculpture would be transported to Thrissur from Andhra Pradesh on a truck with two attached trailers and would take the Bengaluru route to Kerala. A special team of experts would be accompanying the sculpture and cranes would be utilized to raise Hanuman on the pedestal built at the Poonkunnam temple.

Golden chariot

Incidentally, the Seetharama Swamy Temple at Poonkunnam also owns one among the biggest golden chariots in the country.