Welcome to the Sanctum
The Malibu Hindu Temple, officially the Sri Venkateswara Temple of the Hindu Temple Society of Southern California, is one of the most photographed Hindu temples in the Western world — a pair of classical Dravidian shikharas rising dramatically against the Santa Monica Mountains in Calabasas, California. Consecrated in 1984, it was the first traditional South Indian temple built on the US West Coast and remains the spiritual home for the three-million-strong Hindu community of Southern California, Nevada, Arizona and beyond.
The temple campus is built on a 4.5-acre hillside plot leased from the City of Los Angeles and houses two distinct traditional temples: the Sri Venkateswara (Lower) Temple dedicated to Vishnu as Venkateswara, and the Somesvara (Upper) Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, Parvati and Ganesha — making it one of the rare diaspora sites where Vaishnava and Shaiva traditions are honoured on a single sanctified site. The contrast of saffron-and-cream Indian granite against the pale hills of coastal California has made the temple a fixture in Hollywood location shoots, Bollywood weddings and National Geographic photo essays.
— ॐ नमो वेङ्कटेशाय —
Heritage
The story carved into stone, copper, and prayer.
The Hindu Temple Society of Southern California was registered in 1977 by a small group of Telugu, Tamil and Gujarati engineers and doctors in West LA. In the early years, pujas were held in rented halls in Santa Monica, Van Nuys and Hollywood. In 1981, after consultations with the TTD and a visit from the Kanchi Paramacharya, a 4.5-acre site was leased from the City of Los Angeles in the pristine Las Virgenes Canyon — legend records that the Paramacharya identified the hillside as the most energetically suitable site in Southern California for a Venkateswara sannidhi.
Construction of the Lower (Vishnu) Temple began in 1982 with granite panels carved in Mahabalipuram by sthapathis trained in the traditional Chola school. The Kumbhabhishekam was performed on May 14, 1984 by TTD acharyas, drawing over 10,000 devotees to the hitherto-undeveloped canyon. The Upper (Shiva) Temple — a rare diaspora construction — was completed in 1987 with its own Kumbhabhishekam, making Malibu the first US temple to host dual Agama-consecrated mandirs on a single campus.
Through the 1990s and 2000s the temple underwent phased expansions: a community hall in 1996, the dedicated Padmavati Devi shrine in 2001, the Ayyappan sannidhi in 2005, and the Navagraha mandapam in 2010. The third Mahakumbhabhishekam (samprokshanam) was performed in 2006, re-consecrating the shikharas with gold kalashas. A fourth samprokshanam was held in 2022, attended by priests from Tirumala and Tiruchanur.
The temple’s striking visual profile has made it an unintended Hollywood icon — it has appeared in films (Transformers, Ghost in the Shell), television (Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory) and countless Indian-American weddings including several high-profile Bollywood and Silicon Valley matrimonies. The society carefully regulates filming to ensure no commercial use disrespects the sanctum. Culturally, the Malibu Temple is credited with introducing Carnatic music concerts, Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam arangetrams, and the annual Thyagaraja Aradhana to the LA cultural scene, making Hindu aesthetic expression a mainstream American art form.
Sacred Offerings
Offerings performed by ordained priests under the guidance of vedic tradition — for every milestone of life.
$251 (couple-sponsored)
Weekly re-enactment of the divine wedding of Venkateswara and Padmavati — the temple performs this seva every Saturday in front of sponsors.
Book Now →$101
Eleven-named Rudra abhishek performed on Shivalinga at the Upper Somesvara Temple; Somvar sevas are a signature of Malibu.
Book Now →$501
One lakh (100,000) names of Goddess Lakshmi or Goddess Padmavati chanted with archana — a two-day ceremony.
Book Now →$51
Specific to the Ayyappa shrine — the 18 holy steps puja following the Sabarimala tradition.
Book Now →$1,008
Sponsor the temple prasadam lunch for 500+ devotees — considered one of the highest merits in the Vaishnava tradition.
Book Now →Daily Worship
Open all days of the year
Sacred Calendar
Days that turn the temple into a constellation of light, music, and shared prayer.
9-day festival with Garuda Seva, Suryaprabha, Chandraprabha, Pushpa Pallaki — culminating in the Theerthavari procession through Agoura Hills.
All-night vigil at the Upper Somesvara Temple with four-yama abhishekam — one of the most attended Shivaratri observances in California.
Lakshmi Puja, Annakut in the main hall, 11,000 diya lighting along the hillside pathways.
Celebration of Lord Rama’s birth with Sita Kalyanam performed at the Rama Sannidhi — followed by community prasadam.
Community celebrations of harvest and new year with cultural programs drawing 5,000+ families from across SoCal.
Sacred Moments
A visual pilgrimage — captured in the soft light of dusk and the gold of dawn.
Devotee Voices
Words from those whose lives were touched within these walls.
We make the journey to Malibu Hindu Temple every year on our wedding anniversary. The vow my husband took when our daughter was ill twelve years ago has become our family's most sacred ritual. Lord Venkateswara has given us everything.
First time at Malibu Hindu Temple, I was overwhelmed by the crowds. By the third visit, I learned to see the silence inside the noise. Now even the queue is meditation. Govinda! Govinda!
I sponsored my first laddu prasadam dane-sevā the year my startup got funded. I had vowed it during the lockdown, when I had nothing. Bhagwan kept his end. I make sure to keep mine.
Plan Your Visit
Address: 1600 Las Virgenes Canyon Road, Calabasas, CA 91302, United States, Calabasas, California, United States 91302
Nearest airport: Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) — 45 km
Nearest railway: Los Angeles Union Station (55 km)
Nearest bus stand: Calabasas Metro / Amtrak Thruway stops
Phone: +1-818-880-5552
Email: office@malibuhindutemple.org
Official website: www.malibuhindutemple.org
