November 27 2006 - Nithyanandapedia

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November 27 2006

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November 27 2006

A photograph inside a covered, open-sided hall with a tiled floor, where a row of men stands around a large round stone fire pit (kund) with red and cream painted lotus-petal motifs. A small square stone fire hearth burns with flames at its base in front, with brass vessels and a brass tray on the floor. Several men in saffron-orange shawls and dhotis stand together, some in white clothes and one bare-chested man in a white dhoti holds a tray. Cattle are visible through windows along the right wall. Nobody in the scene is clearly identifiable as a specific individual, so no candidate is confirmed; the setting suggests a homa/yagna ritual with attending devotees.

November 27 2006

Night-time homa at an open-air temple pavilion with bamboo scaffolding and a partly built pillared hall behind. A large fire blazes in a tiered yagna kund ringed with yellow marigold and red flower garlands. On the right, a bare-chested priest in white dhoti and shawl pours an offering from a vessel into the flames. Behind him, several priests in white and saffron stand with hands joined. On the left, a seated figure in a gold and red throne under a colourful canopy wears a flower garland and sits with hands folded, marked as the presiding figure. Brass vessels and a plate sit on the floor in front.

Inside a plain cream-walled hall with a corrugated roof, a group of men walks past a large ash-filled stone fire pit ringed with lotus-petal carving. Behind it stands a gold-coloured canopied shrine with a seated figure, garlanded with flower strings. On the right, a man in orange robes with long swept-back hair and a rudraksha mala, plus a dhoti-clad companion in a red checked shawl, lead others in white and orange attire. Two dark cattle stand at a feeding trough and sacks of firewood lie nearby.

August 24 2014

Night-time homa ritual in an open-air temple courtyard with a shallow fire pit in the foreground, ringed with marigold garlands and red flower petals. Several shirtless priests in white dhotis with yellow borders stand around the flames; one holds a small brass vessel and another raises a tapered ritual implement, while a third has hands folded in namaskar. To the far right an older man in a blue-bordered white dhoti tends a table draped in red and covered with flowers and fruit. Behind the fire, a shrine on the left holds a colourful deity murti framed by a decorated arch, and white scaffolding and pillars line the hall. Offering plates, a brass lamp, and a yellow cloth bundle sit on the ground.

A photograph inside a large open-sided pavilion with a thatched roof supported by bamboo poles and decorated with hanging leaf and palm strands. Rows of seated devotees, mostly women in white and cream saris, sit on the bare earth facing a central walkway. Several circular raised fire pits built of earth stand in the aisle. In the right foreground a man in a saffron-orange robe with a long rudraksha mala walks with his hair falling loose, flanked by men in white dhotis and shirts. A uniformed official in khaki stands among them. Potted and hanging banners line the background walls.

A photograph of an indoor temple-workshop space with a concrete-block wall and fluorescent lights. In the centre, a woman in an orange-red shawl and dhoti with a red-and-yellow striped border holds a lit flame aloft, a red tilak on her forehead. Around her, several people in white dhotis and saffron-striped garments stand with palms pressed together in prayer. Behind them are golden deity structures, a white painted bull figure with decorative cloth, and a gilded shrine canopy. In the foreground are brass and gold-toned deity figures, a silver linga, a kalasha-style object, and scattered flower petals on a wooden stand.

A homa fire ritual in a brick-walled hall. Central fire pit built of stacked bricks with a bright flame, surrounded by marigold and flower garlands, brass vessels, and a basket of dried sticks. Several priests in white dhotis and orange-saffron shawls tend the fire; a shirtless priest with an orange turban in the foreground and others seated behind a second fire pit. Marigold garlands and offering trays are arranged along the platform.

2013-09-04 +2 copies

Night-time homa at an open-air temple pavilion. In the foreground a large fire burns in a tiered yagna kunda decorated with marigold garlands and red kumkum. Behind it a priest in white dhoti with a saffron-and-gold shawl holds a vessel over the flames and offers oblations, while a second priest in cream dhoti with a gold border holds a bundle of kusha grass beside him. At right a man in a saffron dhoti with a red rudraksha mala and bare chest, hands folded in anjali, stands by a table of flowers and offerings. Behind them more white-clad priests tend additional fire pits under bamboo-supported roofing, with a deity shrine lit at the back. Coconuts, flowers and brass pots sit on the ground.