Hindu Temple and Cultural Center - STCC of SC

A temple built by the community

The story of this temple is a community story. A small group of motivated members of Charleston's Indian diaspora wanted a permanent house of worship for the Lowcountry, so rather than travel to other cities for services they set about building one at home. The first doors opened in October 2009, and the temple was formally established on the auspicious day of Vijayadashami in October 2010. A large central building was then purchased to give the community a proper, lasting sanctuary.↗↗

Today the temple is owned and operated by STCC of SC, a registered religious and charitable nonprofit. Its stated mission goes beyond ritual: to provide worship and satsang (spiritual discourses), to strengthen the ethical and cultural bonds of devotees, to promote friendship among people of all faiths, and to give the younger generation a connection to their heritage through Sunday school, summer camps and seminars. The temple is explicitly open to all, regardless of color, caste or social status.↗

Daily worship and the rhythm of aarati

The heart of any visit is the daily worship. The temple keeps an evening aarati at 7:30 PM and a morning aarati at 11:00 AM, the moments when lamps are circled, bells rung and prayers offered before the deities—when the atmosphere is at its most devotional. The temple is generally open for darshan (viewing of the deities) on weekday mornings from 9 AM to noon and evenings from 5 to 8 PM, with weekend mornings running until 1 PM; the hours close fully on Wednesdays.↗

The weekly calendar layers special observances onto the daily round. Monday evenings bring Rudrabhishekam, a bathing ritual for Lord Shiva; Tuesday is devoted to the Hanuman Chalisa recitations honoring the monkey god Hanuman; Thursday features chanting of the Vishnu Sahasranamam, the thousand names of Vishnu. On the first Saturday of each month the temple performs a Sri Venkateshwara Abhishekam, the third Saturday a Sri Karthikeya Abhishekam, and the second Saturday a Sundarkand Path, while the full moon day draws a Sri Sathya Narayana Pooja. Arriving for one of these observances lets you experience temple ritual at its fullest.↗

Deities, classes and festivals

Multiple shrines populate the temple, and the Hanuman murti (sacred image) in particular is praised by visitors for its grace. Abhishekam pujas here are offered to Lord Shiva, Hanuman and Kartikeya, reflecting the range of deities honored under one roof. For those who want to go deeper, Sunday afternoons include a class on the Srimad Bhagavad Gita led by a resident swamini (the session also runs online), and a weekly yoga class offers a gentle introduction to practice in the temple setting.↗↗↗

The temple's calendar is brightest during major festivals. Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated as a twelve-day event, with each evening bringing sankalpam (vow), abhishekam and fire ceremony (havan), bhajans, aarati and the distribution of prasadam, culminating in a flower-decorated visarjan (sending-off) on the final day. Families also come for the full slate of lifecycle ceremonies the temple offers—naming ceremonies, first-rice (anna prasanam), housewarmings, birthday and 60th-birthday pujas, thread ceremonies and Hindu weddings—each conducted by the temple's priests with traditional materials provided on site.↗↗

The visitor experience

What lingers for most guests is the warmth of the people and the peace of the space. Long-time congregants describe a serene, welcoming temple that has grown more beautiful over the years, while newcomers recount unhurried pujas lasting hours, kind and accommodating staff, and learned priests and priestesses happy to explain the rituals. Visitors who have stopped by for community events—such as the temple's American Red Cross blood drives—recall leaving with the temple's famously generous prasadam and a strong sense of being welcomed.↗↗

Planning your visit

The temple sits at 1740 Jervey Avenue in West Ashley, with a phone number (843-608-8599) and website you can use to confirm timings before traveling, as some visitors have found that evening darshan can vary. Dress comfortably and modestly; as in most Hindu temples you'll typically remove your shoes at the entrance and may offer flowers or fruits during a puja. The temple is wheelchair accessible, with accessible parking, entrance and restrooms, and restrooms are available on site.↗↗↗↗

Timing your visit around an aarati—morning at 11:00 AM or evening at 7:30 PM—or a monthly abhishekam on a Saturday gives you the most complete glimpse of temple worship, while festival days like the twelve nights of Ganesh Chaturthi offer the liveliest celebration of the year. The temple also rents its cultural center for private events and offers a range of priest-led ceremonies by arrangement, making it both a place to attend and a venue to celebrate within.↗↗