December 28 2011 - Nithyanandapedia

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December 28 2011

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December 28 2011

Two priests in white ritual dhotis sit on an orange mat performing a homa beside a brick-lined fire pit. The priest on the right, wearing a gold necklace and bangles, sits with palms joined in prayer before a microphone stand, a small flame rising from the pit. The priest on the left, with a rudraksha mala and a bare upper body, sits with hands near a brass plate of samagri and sticks for the fire. Behind them stand a stone temple structure with carved panels, a potted palm, and an orange cloth hanging on the wall, with a red-and-white striped backdrop.

A photograph of a homa fire ritual at an outdoor pavilion. A shaved-headed priest in white dhoti and shawl with gold-edged border, wearing a gold necklace and bangles, sits before a square fire pit and pours an offering from a ladle into bright orange flames. Nearby on the stone platform are a silver bowl, a brass plate of yellow offering, and a pile of firewood. Behind him, several seated musicians and devotees in dark and white clothing watch, with a microphone stand near the fire and green shrubs in the background.

A homa being performed at a brick-lined fire pit decorated with yellow and red flower petals. A shaven-headed man in saffron robes and a multi-strand rudraksha-style bead necklace with a gold pendant feeds the flames with a ladle-like vessel, smoke rising around him. Beside him, a younger man in white clothing with a yellow shawl sits on the floor among brass pots, a kalasha-style vessel, bowls and trays. Behind, brass lamps stand near a pink and green cloth with garlands, and a brass plate holds offerings. The setting is a tiled ritual space with a pale floor.

A shaven-headed priest in white dhoti and white shawl sits cross-legged before a square homa fire pit built of ochre bricks decorated with white markings and yellow flowers. He holds a microphone stand in one hand and an open book in the other, a silver bowl of grains nearby, with a ceremonial copper-and-silver vessel and offering bowls on a tray to his left. Two decorated kalashas with yellow flowers and banana leaves sit at right beside a red-orange cloth backdrop. The scene shows a fire ritual in progress with an oil lamp at the pit's edge. No other people are visible.

December 28 2011

December 28 2011

A photograph of a seated puja with three men in front of a brass oil lamp and incense smoke. The man in the centre, with a shaved head, wears an orange-saffron robe and raises a lit brass lamp with a flame. Beside him, a man in orange robes holds a second lit lamp. In the foreground, a man in white dhoti and white shirt with a red-bordered shawl holds a flame to a lamp near brass plates of offerings and a small brass kalasha on a red mat. Smoke drifts across the frame, and blurred devotees and a small table of equipment appear in the background. Aarti is being performed.

March 07 2013

A photograph of a homa fire pit inside a temple hall. A wooden fire pit with a bright flame sits in the foreground, its rim scattered with white and yellow flower petals. Behind it, a seated man in an orange-saffron upper cloth and a yellow-bordered white dhoti sits with a thin gold-coloured sacred thread visible, wearing a plain gold chain and a tilak on his forehead. To the right, a shirtless priest in a white dhoti with a purple-and-green striped cloth wrapped across his shoulder sits facing the fire, a steel bowl and offerings nearby. Another man in a purple-and-orange headcloth and rudraksha-style beads sits to the right. Behind them, a golden arch frames a floral arrangement and a kalasha-like vessel, with ornate golden deity figures in the background. Priests in white are seated along the back. The scene reflects a homa or yagna ritual.

A shaved-headed priest in white dhoti and shawl with gold borders sits cross-legged before a fire pit built of brick-shaped blocks. He wears a long beaded necklace and bangles, a tilak on his forehead, and feeds the flames with a ladle held in his right hand. Silver bowls of offerings, a silver vessel and a tray sit beside him. Behind him three brass kalashas and potted palms stand near a red-and-white striped backdrop, and a woman in a white and yellow sari sits on a plastic chair. Yellow flowers decorate the blocks and three ornate vases with yellow flowers stand on the right.

Devotees sit on a floor in a hall during a ritual. In the foreground, a man in a white dhoti with a gold-bordered shawl and a long rudraksha mala holds a brass bell in his right hand and a brass oil lamp in his left, with white vibhuti marks on his forehead and arms. Behind him, a man in a saffron-orange shawl and rudraksha mala sits with a small brass lamp or incense vessel near his hands. Further left, a woman in orange sits beside him, and other lamp-holding devotees in white and orange appear in the background. A gold and red throne-like chair sits behind them, with warm lamplight on the scene. The ritual appears to be an aarti with oil lamps.