Skip to content
Nithyanandapedia
Outdoor ground-breaking ritual under a striped purple, teal and white canopy. A long-haired man in saffron-orange robes and an orange turban, wearing a multicoloured marigold and jasmine garland and rudraksha beads, pours flower petals and rice into a freshly dug pit in the earth, with a rangoli of coloured flowers around it. Swamiji (probable) is the central figure, distinguished by the swept hair, orange turban, saffron robes and rudraksha cues. Beside him an elderly priest with a white beard, orange shawl and garland holds a brass tray, and several men in white shirts and white dhotis stand or kneel watching. Brass plates and offerings sit nearby.

More like this

Open the gallery
November 24 20062006-11-24November 24 20062006-11-24Outdoor groundbreaking ceremony under a striped canopy with tasselled yellow, red and green edging. A young man in an orange-saffron robe and orange turban stands at the front right, garlanded with a multicoloured flower garland, holding a brass bell and making a gesture, with a rudraksha mala at his neck. Beside him an elderly white-bearded man in orange shawl and garland holds a tray of offerings. Behind, a bare-chested priest in grey dhoti holds a tray with a yellow flower pile, and devotees in white shirts and dhotis stand around. In the foreground a square pit is filled with yellow bricks, surrounded by coloured floral rangoli and a tray of kumkum and offerings. Approximately ten people are visible.2006-11-24November 24 20062006-11-24Outdoor photograph of a funeral rite at an open dusty field. In the foreground a bare-chested man with long swept-back dark hair wears a saffron-orange draped cloth and a long gold bead necklace, pouring water from a brass vessel over a smouldering pit of grey ash ringed with bricks. Behind him a man in white dhoti and shirt holds a brass pot, and several onlookers stand or sit, including a child in a green uniform. A silver SUV and a motorcycle are parked in the background under a pale sky.2005-11-14Outdoor photo at a dry, red-earth site with bare trees behind. A man in an orange sleeveless robe, orange turban and long dark hair wears a white and red flower garland and a rudraksha mala. He leans over a freshly planted sapling with green leaves, pouring water at its base, while a flower-decorated kolam with yellow marigolds and pink petals surrounds it. Behind him two men in white clothes stand, one holding a tray of pink petals, and at right an older man in a light grey shirt and white dhoti stands with palms pressed together. Orange sandals rest on the ground.2010-02-15Outdoor ground-breaking ceremony under a canopy with striped purple, teal and white fabric and hanging tassels. A young man in an orange turban, orange robe and a long white-and-yellow flower garland pours water from a steel vessel into a pit lined with yellow bricks, as a bhoomi pooja worship of the earth. Around him, an elderly bearded man in an orange garland and shawl stands beside a kneeling man in white with hands joined in prayer. Others in white dhotis and shirts, and a bare-chested man with a sacred thread, watch closely. Floor kolam designs of coloured powder and flower petals surround the pit, with a small puja arrangement of fruit and offerings behind.2006-11-24Outdoor ritual at the Kanchipuram ashram land inauguration: a central figure in saffron-orange robes with an orange head wrap, long dark hair, and a garland of white and yellow flowers holds a small lit flame over a pit in the ground, with a yellow-flowered garland at his feet. Several men in white dhotis and shirts stand around with palms pressed together, and an older bearded man in orange and a garland stands to the left. Above is a striped purple and white canopy with leafy decoration. The pit is lined with flower petals and a rangoli border, with brass vessels and a plate of offerings nearby. Ritual fire worship, bhoomi pooja setting.2006-11-24A standing man in an orange turban and orange robe, with long dark hair, wears a white and red-green flower garland and a gold necklace with a pendant, smiling as he extends his hands toward a white-clad devotee bowing low before him. Beside him a woman in an orange shawl and white clothes presses her palms together, and a man in an orange shawl smiles behind. On the left a person holds a gold trident staff, and an orange-robed attendant drapes an orange and maroon cloth over the bowing devotee. Behind them are a red-and-yellow cushion and an older man in yellow garments. The orange-robed figure in the turban has distinctive long hair, a turban and ornate gold necklace, consistent with the page's a person reference, though this is an appearance-based label only.2007-12-30Outdoor procession scene with a central figure in a maroon-and-gold dhoti and a heavy gold necklace draped with white and red flower garlands, standing amid several saffron-robed monks and men in white. A shaved-headed monk in saffron stands behind him, and an older man in an orange shawl with white flower garlands holds his hands together in namaskar. Men in white bend forward at the bottom of the frame, and an umbrella-like ornate canopy with gold fittings appears overhead. Crowd members in white and saffron surround the group on a dusty roadside. The central figure's appearance and adornments are not sufficiently distinctive to establish identity, so no candidate is named.2013-11-11A procession walks along a paved garden path lined with orange marigolds and rustic wooden fencing under shade trees. At the centre, a man in a white dhoti and shawl with gold trim wears a long red-and-white flower garland, a gold necklace and a tilak on his forehead, walking barefoot beneath a multicoloured ceremonial parasol topped with a trident-like finial. Flanking him, men in saffron-orange robes wear rudraksha malas; the one on the left carries a silver tray of offerings and the one on the right walks with hands folded. A figure in a white robe with a staff follows behind. Another rudraksha-wearing man in saffron carries a staff and walks at the front right. Ritual procession with umbrella and offering tray.2009-01-01Outdoor land puja at a dry, tree-lined site with reddish soil. A central figure in an orange turban, orange robe and white-and-red flower garland bends forward while holding a leafy green branch over a circular rangoli of white lines, yellow marigolds and pink petals, with a small pit dug in the middle and red bricks laid on one side. On the left, a man in orange robes with long dark hair stands with palms joined in namaskar. On the right, a man in a grey shirt and a man in white dhoti with a sacred ash mark hold a long wooden digging rod into the ground. Other people in white clothing stand in the background among bare trees.2010-02-15