Andaman Narayanan Deity Restoration Project

Project Description: The Andaman Narayanan Deity Restoration Project is a project taken on by the Center for Hindu Studies as part of the revival of the Andaman Narayanan Temple Complex as envisioned by the Shree Andaman Narayanan Devasthanam Foundation of Phang Nga, Thailand.

Project Goal: The goal of the Restoration Project is to provide a new Lord Narayanan deity that will be made in the likeness of the original Lord Narayanan deity, which is an archaeological treasure of Thailand. This new deity will then be enshrined in a new temple that will be built by the Foundation on the land where the original deity was enshrined about 1,300 years ago thus reviving this ancient pilgrimage site.

Stages of the Restoration Project

Stage One: To build a cement based stucco replica of the original deity. This stucco model will be in the restored likeness of the original deity. The differences between the model and the original will be in their respective dimensions, where the model will be smaller (standing at 185 cm) than the original (standing at 252 cm); in perfection where the model will a likeness of the original as it must have looked when it was originally carved, not as it is now since it is broken in many places and much of its carved features has been worn by nature and history; the model will be made as a complete statue with details carved in its front and back whereas the original is made in the style of a wall-relief with nothing but bare rock on its back. This stage of the project was accomplished successfully on July 26th 2012.
• Click here to read the about the details of this project and stage.
• Click here to view the photo documentary of this stage of this project.

Stage Two: To ship the stucco model to Chennai, India. The model will then be in the care of Panchami Associates. This stage involves getting required approvals from the Thalang National Museum (the grounds on which the stucco model was made) authorities and the government of Thailand to ship the model to India. This is as per Thailand's national regulations since the model is a reproduction of an archaeological heritage of the country. Once all the approvals are garnered the model will then be carefully crated and shipped to Chennai. The Stucco deity arrived safely in Chennai in March 2013.

Stage Three: In the care of Selvanathan Sthapati and Panchami Associates the model will then be used as a reference to carve the black granite statue Shree Andaman Narayanan. The deity will be carved from a single block of black granite. It is estimated that this will be the longest stage of the this project, taking around 18 months from the 'first chipping ceremony'. This phase of the project commenced in March 2014 with a ceremonial first chipping of the stone.

Stage Four: The black granite deity will be a 1:1 scale to the stucco model. The granite statue will be 185 cm from its crown to its feet. The deity will be carved and shipped along with the stucco model back to Thailand. The stucco model will be returned to the Foundation as part of the history of the temple. The statues were shipped in July 2015 from Chennai to Takuapa.

Stage Five: The final stage of the Restoration Project is the installation of the new Shree Andaman Narayanan Deity on the temple site where the original deity used to be. The deity will be prepared for worship. Thus the completion of the Restoration Project. This will happen on February 10, 2016.

If you would like to get involved in this project or get information to visit the the Shree Andaman Narayanan ancient temple site in Thailand please contact me, Guhanathaswami, Founder and Director of the Center for Hindu Studies, Malaysia: guhaswami@myhindupage.org