Sugar Land-area Hindu temple now home to third largest statue in the U.S. – Houston Public Media

Natalie Weber / Houston Public Media

A temple in Fort Bend County is now home to the third-largest statue in the United States.

The Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple dedicated the 90-foot, 90-ton Statue of Union earlier this month. The statue depicts Hanuman, a Hindu deity who helped rescue the kidnapped wife of Rama, another deity and king.

“Hanuman is a symbol of uniting communities, uniting people behind a goal,” said Vijay Sreenarasimhaiah, the temple’s vice president. “He’s an example of a good spiritual leader because he brings people together.”

The statue was designed in India by His Holiness Sri Chinnajeeyar Swamiji. The parts were manufactured in China, then shipped to the United States and assembled at the temple.

Prasad Gadiraju, the temple’s president, said there’s a reason behind the statue’s height and weight.

“90 is a very significant number. It’s an auspicious number,” he said.

According to WorldAtlas, the Statue of Liberty is the tallest statue in the United States at 151 feet, excluding the pedestal, followed by the Pegasus and the Dragon at 110 feet in Florida.

Natalie Weber / Houston Public Media

The statue depicts Hanuman as a human figure with a monkey’s face, with his palms facing forward as a sign of benevolence.

“It is really Hanuman’s blessings to the public or to all the devotees,” Gadiraju said.

While the temple has a Sugar Land address, it is located in the extra-territorial jurisdiction of Houston, meaning the latter was responsible for issuing permits to the temple.

According to Newsweek, the statue received backlash from some Christian conservatives on social media.

But Sreenarasimhaiah, the temple’s vice president, said he saw nothing but support when obtaining permits from the city of Houston. Many people in the community have given positive feedback about the statue, he said.

“There’s nothing in this that puts somebody else’s religion down,” he said. “In fact, the folks who worked on the project locally and supported it have come from all sorts of faiths, and they’ve all appreciated it.”