Tirtha Atlas

The sacred geography of the Indic world — every site mapped, dated, storied, and cited.

3031 sites15 countries4 traditions30 centuries
Modern · Hindu · Malaysia

Jalan Baru Sri Muniswarar Temple

Jalan Baru, Perai, Penang, Penang · 5.3800°, 100.3947°

Muniswarar (with Muniandy, Ganesha and Murugan)Modern (Tamil diaspora)Dravidian
Sacred since
1870 CE
first attestation / structure
Standing structure
1870s
Modern (Tamil diaspora)

History & significance

One of the older Tamil shrines on the Penang mainland, set up in the 1870s by Indian labourers who came with the East India Company. It opened as Sri Muniandy Temple and was later renamed for Muniswarar, the village guardian deity worshipped at its main altar alongside Ganesha and Murugan.

Sthala katha — the traditional account

What follows is the temple’s own traditional account, transmitted through liturgy and local memory. It is recorded here as tradition, not as attested history.

The guardian is said to ride the neighbourhood after midnight on a white horse with an arivaal blade and a cigar, and a Chinese devotee who saw him enter the temple grounds so mounted paid for an altar in his honour.

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Sources

coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-28 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Modern (Tamil diaspora)