Carved out of a single granite rock, 25 feet high statue weighs 45 tons.
America has got what is touted as the tallest statue of Hindu monkey god Lord Hanuman standing 25 feet high and weighing a massive 45 tons chiseled out of a single granite rock.
Crafted and shipped at a cost of over $100,000 from Warangal in Telangana state of India, the statue was installed in Hockessin in the New Castle County, Delaware, this week over ten days of religious ceremonies.
The statue was handcrafted by more than a dozen ‘Shilpis’ or skilled artisans working full-time for more than a year, according to a Facebook post of Hindu Temple of Delaware Association.
Back in January, the installation Traveled from Hyderabad to New York by ship, and then by flatbed truck to Delaware, to the state’s largest Hindu temple.
For the purification of the statue, after it arrived Nagraj Bhattar, a priest from Bangalore performed several rituals including purification of the deity with rice grains, water and flowers.
“We all believe that with the ‘moorty’ coming to Delaware, Lord Hanuman will bring all the good things like he brought the Sanjeevani (magical herb). So that was the main central focus for all devotees and the priest,” he was quoted as saying.
It is said to be the tallest statue of a Hindu god in the US and the second tallest religious statue in Delaware after Our Lady Queen of Peace statue at Holy Spirit Church in New Castle.
More than 300 families, temple devotees and resident priest participated in the ten-day-long Sthapana (installation), said Patibanda Sharma, President, Hindu Temple of Delaware Association.
U.S. Sen. Chris Coons, D-DE, New Castle County executive Matt Myer and Lt Gov. of Delaware Bethany Hall-Long extended their support to the Indian community after the installation of the statue was done, according to local media reports.