It is not known exactly when Sri Rama Temple was first built, but according to available documents, it must have existed before 1872. This is confirmed by the will dated 12 July, 1872.
The land on which Sri Rama Temple stands was willed by an Indian woman by the name of Ranee Dhoby (Dhoby denoting her profession rather than surname). She was regarded as the leader of the washer men who have settled along the banks of the Ayer Itam River as early as the turn of the 19th century. A land grant dated 2 May, 1802, stated that she was given a piece of land by the order of Sir George Leith (for whom Leith Street was named), the Governor of Prince of Wales Island, by virtue of the authority of the Governor General of Bengal. Before she died, Ranee Dhoby created a trust for the building of a temple, to be known as the Ranee Dhoby Koil.
Sri Rama Temple was renovated in 1982, and deities such as Rama, Sita, Hanuman and Ganesh were installed. There is also a memorial to Ranee on the walls of the present temple. The inner sanctum follows the original octagonal design. Sri Rama Temple is a Vaishnavite temple, that is to say, a Hindu temple where Vishnu and his associated avatars or incarnation are worshipped as the supreme deity. This is one of the two Vaishnavite temples in Penang, the other being the Sri Kunj Bihari Temple.
The gateway to the Sri Rama Temple, Solok York, Penang
The gopuram of the Sri Rama Temple
The old shrine of the Sri Rama Temple
Penang Overview
Get to know Penang and explore its many fascinating sights!
Penang Travel Tips
A new website created to provide travel tips to people planning a visit to Penang!
Penang Travel Map
Detail map pointing out all the tourist attractions in Penang!
Thank you, thank you, thank you, for the opportunity to explore the world, to document, to photograph, and to share the information with you. My name is Tim, I'm the writer of this website, and I want to tell you how grateful I am for your visit. This is one of over a dozen websites that I write - you can click my thumbnail photo above to randomly visit any one of them. All my photos are available for commercial printing - find out the photo usage rights here. If you wish to share you photos on this website, upload them to www.panoramio.com and send the URL to me for consideration. And, if you'd like to correspond with me, send your mails to my address as shown below:
About the Author: AsiaExplorers is researched and written by Timothy Tye. We take reasonable care to check and verify the accuracy of the content. However, we disclaim any responsibility for any inconvenience, mishap, injury or death resulting from following the advice provided directly or indirectly by AsiaExplorers and the comments on its pages. All the photographs in AsiaExplorers are available for publication. Please contact AsiaExplorers at the following email address for your enquiries:
