Tallest Hanuman Deity in the US is Installed in Delaware

In a surprising turn of events, a towering 25 ft statue of Hindu deity Hanuman was installed in the US city of Hockessin, Delaware, United States. With this, it has also become the tallest Hindu god idol in the US. Interestingly, this huge Hanuman statue was shipped from Telangana’s Warangal in south India.

Informing more about the statue, Patibanda Sharma, President, Hindu Temple of Delaware Association said, “It weighs around 45 tonnes. It has been shipped from Warangal, Telangana to Delaware.”

Telling about the process of installation of the idol, she said that one the statue is completed as per the prescribed process by an artisan and is delivered, the temple priests normally conduct a a 5 to 10-day ritual. The ritual primarily involves fire offerings along with other religious processes. Then, the whole community is invited to meet and bond with the newly installed idol.

As per reports, the statue is made from a solid block of black granite. It took one year to complete the statue. Several images of the statue in Delaware were shared on Twitter.

A 25-feet-tall Hanuman statue shipped from Telangana and installed in Delaware, USAPhoto courtesy: Hindu Temple of Delaware

Given the Coronavirus pandemic, no gathering will be allowed anywhere close to the Hanuman idol for now. As per authorities, some prime rituals such as the Yantra Pratishtha and Prana Pratishtha have already been done.

The project was called The Hanuman Project in which more than 300 families and temple devotees along with the resident priest participated in the 10-day sthapana or installation process.

The statue was brought to New York from Hyderabad in a ship and was transported by flatbed truck to Delaware. All the rituals were performed by a priest from Bengaluru including purification of the deity.