July 15 2011 - Nithyanandapedia

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July 15 2011

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July 15 2011

Outdoor homa or yagna at an open-air courtyard shaded by palm and banana trees. Many devotees sit in rows on the paved floor before red rectangular fire pits holding wood and offerings. Several men wear white dhoti and shirts with rudraksha malas; women wear white saris with gold borders, saris in red and orange, and some folded hands in namaskar. A man in the foreground, bald with rudraksha malas and white clothes, holds a small oil lamp and offering. Brass and steel vessels, a plate of flowers and a yellow cloth bag sit on the ground. A red-roofed building and tall palms appear behind.

July 15 2011

An outdoor courtyard of a temple-style ashram with coconut palms behind it. Several rows of people in white clothes sit on a sandy ground across circular stone-rimmed fire pits, with smoke rising from them. Around a dozen men in white dhotis and shirts sit cross-legged in the pits' area, some in yellow or saffron-coloured cloths, while a larger group of seated devotees in white and grey clothes watches from mats and chairs in the foreground. A small child in red sits among them. A white-and-red striped platform lies at left, and a line of small stone figures stands near a white building at the back. This appears to be a homa or fire ritual.

Outdoor homa ceremony in a temple courtyard under a row of hanging green leaf garlands, with palm trees and stone deity sculptures behind. A square fire pit with smoke rising sits on a white marble platform, scattered with marigold petals. Several shaved-headed priests in white dhoti and shawls, with ochre and white body markings and gold necklaces, sit around the fire and place offerings. A framed portrait of a woman in orange sits on a red and gold throne at left, and a seated figure in orange robes sits at the far right near a Shiva lingam. Devotees in white sit on mats in the background, and a kalasha and brass pots lie near the platform.

2010-10-16 +1 copies

July 15 2011

Outdoors under palm trees, a shaven-headed priest in saffron-orange robes and a rudraksha mala sits cross-legged at a white square fire pit, performing a homa with burning sticks and ritual offerings. Beside him stands a brass vessel and a kalasha-like pot decorated with orange marigolds, and a brass lamp sits on a saffron-coloured cloth. Behind the fire, a large crowd of seated devotees in white clothes and red-and-white lanyards with neck cords watches, some with hands folded in namaskar. Low orange-walled buildings and a yellow-painted structure stand in the background. A statue row and a red circular pole are visible.

Outdoor temple scene with several devotees seated in a row on a mat and paved ground, hands joined in prayer. The foreground woman wears a white sari with a red-and-yellow bag at her side; the woman beside her wears a green-and-yellow shawl. Behind them, seated people wear white, cream and teal clothing. In front of them stand rows of red brick-patterned boxes with white markings, strung with rope and containing small bundles of sticks. To the left stands a black stone Nandi-style bull statue garlanded with orange and yellow flowers, beside a table of bananas. Palm trees and a tiled-roof shrine building appear in the background.

June 18 2010

A homa fire ritual outdoors in front of a dark stone deity murti on a plain concrete platform. A fire pit is built of red brick with a small smouldering fire and offerings. Four young shaved-headed boys in red-orange robes and rudraksha malas sit close together, with the pit between them and a metal bowl and ladle nearby. Adults in white dhotis with gold borders and sandalwood-marked foreheads sit with palms joined in prayer. The man on the right in a red-orange robe and rudraksha mala pours liquid from a bowl and holds a bell, while flower garlands, fruit and plates of offerings lie on the platform. A palm tree and small buildings appear in the background.

Outdoor homa ceremony at an ashram courtyard with palm trees and red-roofed buildings behind. A bald man in saffron-orange robes and a red-beaded necklace sits cross-legged before a white square fire pit, palms pressed together in prayer. Around him, a large seated crowd of men and boys wears white clothing with white-and-red garlands; the adults in white shirts and dhotis sit in rows. A brass vessel and a kalasha with orange kumkum and green leaves rest on an orange-and-purple cloth at right. A red-clad figure is partly visible in the foreground, and a purple flag hangs at upper left.

Outdoor photograph of a ritual gathering in an open courtyard framed by coconut palms. In the foreground a seated audience of about thirty people sits on mats, mostly women in white and cream clothing with some in orange and patterned saris. Beyond them, a dozen or so people sit cross-legged in meditation on circular raised platforms of stone and sand, many in white, with several in saffron-orange robes. A tall copper-coloured flagpole or pillar rises at right beside a white-washed altar structure, and a red-and-white striped stage edge sits in front. A standing figure in white is visible in the background. Small fire or incense plumes rise near the seated rows.