Skip to content
Nithyanandapedia
A photograph of a temple ritual inside a shrine. In the centre, a bare-chested sadhu in a dark turban wears layered rudraksha malas and a leopard-print lower cloth, and holds a smoking incense or dhoop stick and a small brass vessel. Behind him stands a deity murti with a crown, a trident and garlands of yellow and red flowers. In front, a white-ash-covered shivalinga sits on a stone base. To the left, two more men in orange cloths and rudraksha necklaces are partly visible, and a smoky haze fills the air.

More like this

Open the gallery
February 13 20182018-02-13Four men stand around a white stone shivalinga in a temple shrine on a Maha Shivaratri-themed occasion. The central man, with a dark turban and beard, wears a rust-red shawl, a leopard-print lower garment and a large rudraksha mala, and holds a bell in one hand while smoke rises beside him. Two assistants in saffron and rust cloth and rudraksha malas stand on either side, one holding a bundle of incense sticks and a small cup. A fourth man in saffron and rust clothing stands at the left edge. A golden deity murti with a crescent and a garland stands behind the lingam, beside a golden trident, and the lingam is dusted with white powder.2018-02-13A photograph of a temple ritual with a central man in a brown and leopard-print wrap, rudraksha malas across his chest and forearm, and a long rudraksha-bead headdress, holding incense sticks and a small bell beside a white-coated Shivalinga. Behind him a deity murti is garlanded with marigolds and a trident stands upright. Around him several men in saffron and orange cloths, some bare-chested with rudraksha and beaded necklaces, assist in the abhishekam, with white ash marks on their skin. Smoke rises from the incense.2018-02-13February 13 20182018-02-13A photograph of a temple ritual. A man with a large dark turban and a rudraksha mala, wearing a leopard-print cloth around his waist and a maroon garment, holds up a lit oil lamp with a flame toward a deity murti. The murti is a gold-faced Shiva figure with a trident, a crescent ornament and a dark turban, adorned with a garland of yellow, white and red flowers and a jewelled embroidered garment. Behind him, two more attendants stand in orange and white ritual clothing, one bare-chested. A small stone lingam with flower offerings sits before the murti. The setting is dim, with a warm glow from the flame. Image text reads2018-02-13February 13 20182018-02-13A man with long dreadlocked hair, a rudraksha mala and a red-brown wrap stands at a shrine beside a gilded trident and a deity murti draped in flower garlands, with a white ash-covered lingam on a silver base in front. He wears a leopard-print lower garment and has white ash on his arms and chest, with his palms pressed together in worship. Several attendants in orange robes stand nearby, one bending forward, with white ash on their skin, in what appears to be a puja or abhishekam setting.2018-02-13February 13 20182018-02-13February 13 20182018-02-13A photograph of a temple ritual in progress. A smiling bearded man with long dreadlocked hair, a crescent ornament at his crown, rudraksha beads on his arms and neck, and a leopard-print lower garment over a rust-brown wrap, pours or applies liquid from a small vessel onto a white sculpted shivalinga on a stone base, with a silver-and-brass trident and garlanded deity murti behind him. Around him, several other men in orange and rust-coloured wraps, some bare-chested with white sacred ash markings on their arms and chests, stand by holding rudraksha malas and ritual items; one wears a red turban and another has a long braid. Swamiji (probable): the central man has long dreadlocks, a crown-like crescent ornament, rudraksha adornments and ritual leopard-print dress, matching the page's account of a Prana Pratishtha abhishekam.2018-02-13A photograph of a temple ritual. A bearded man with a tall dark turban, wearing a leopard-print wrap over a brown dhoti and many rudraksha beads, holds a lit oil lamp toward a deity murti of Shiva with a gold trident, crescent crown, gold chest ornament and garlands of yellow, red and white flowers. The murti stands on a dark stone pedestal sprinkled with white ash. Behind him, a younger man bare-chested in an orange-red dhoti with rudraksha strands stands beside another devotee in orange, with flower garlands and a brass pot at the lower left. Decorated pillars and a red cloth backdrop frame the scene.2018-02-13February 13 20182018-02-13