Skip to content
Nithyanandapedia
A smoky ritual scene with a wooden platform covered in cow dung cakes or logs smouldering under a heavy cloud of white smoke. Two tall polished silver oil lamps with burning flames stand in front of the platform, and a coconut wrapped in an orange cloth with green leaves sits on a silver plate at the lower left. Floor is decorated with white powder lines and scattered flower petals. Blurred figures in orange and red clothing are visible at the top edge, with partial glimpse of a rudraksha-style arm adornment.

More like this

Open the gallery
August 31 20172017-08-31August 31 20172017-08-31August 31 20172017-08-31 +1 copiesA close view of a wooden-framed fire pit for a homa, with a tall flame rising from a pile of dry sticks and twigs, smoke curling upward. In the blurred background, several people in orange and saffron robes sit behind the fire, and a silver bowl with offerings sits beside the pit. Small oil lamps glow at the right edge.2015-01-07 +1 copiesPhoto 11706363January 11 20142014-01-11Close photo of a flame burning in a terracotta bowl on a wooden stand, with two brass oil lamps with decorative tops in the background and a metal vessel at right. No people are visible; the scene suggests a ritual fire setup.2018-05-31A photograph of a ritual in progress: thick white smoke rises from a rectangular wooden platform stacked with dark cowdung cakes, dusted with white powder and sprinkled with red petals. Two polished silver oil lamps with burning flames stand in the foreground at the lower left. Behind the platform, two people in saffron and orange-red clothing are partly visible at the top corners, one with long dark hair. The scene depicts the purifying smoke step of preparing an aushada (Pudamgaatal). No one's face is clearly visible, so the a person candidate is uncertain.2017-08-31A square brick homa fire pit burns with bright orange flames on a low platform, its edges marked with white ritual lines. Behind it stands a gold-trimmed altar or peetha draped with white garlands and yellow-and-maroon flower arrangements around metal vessels. A gold lidded vessel sits at the left, and brass and steel pots, ladles and offering bowls surround the fire on the right, with a pan of dried stalks. A cloth backdrop hangs behind. No people are visible.2012-01-08Close photograph of a ritual fire burning in a brass or copper bowl set on a dark stone base, flames rising strongly. Two polished brass oil lamps stand beside it, one with a trident-shaped top, and a wide metal vessel of water sits to the right. A garland of pink and white flowers hangs at the upper right edge over a red cloth. No people are visible; the scene suggests a homa or puja fire setup.2018-05-31A close photograph of a homa fire pit built of stacked red-brick blocks dusted with white powder and marked with red kumkum and coloured patterns. A bright flame rises from the centre, and a hand in the upper right, wearing a bangle, pours a liquid from a long golden ladle into the fire. A large polished brass or silver bowl sits on the right, a small metal kalasha-style pot lies in front, and blurred brass oil lamps frame the foreground. No people are fully visible beyond the hand.2015-07-09 +3 copiesA photograph of a homa fire ceremony in a temple hall at night. A fire burns in a large square golden fire pit with patterned tiles, sending up smoke. A man in an orange-red turban, orange-red shawl, rudraksha mala and ceremonial gold necklace kneels on the right holding an open book and reading. Oil lamps stand beside the pit and marigold petals are scattered on a mat. Behind, several people in white clothes sit on mats, some near a drum. The figure matches the presentation of a person through the turban, orange robes and rudraksha beads, but this is an appearance-based label only, and he is described here as a priest leading the fire ritual.2015-11-18