Photograph of a small shrine set into the trunk and aerial roots of a large banyan tree. A dark arched opening between tangled grey roots reveals a lit oil lamp on a brass plate surrounded by pink flower petals in the shadowed interior. Incense smoke rises from a brass holder on a dark granite-topped stone bench in the foreground, flanked by two white-painted low walls. No people are visible. - Nithyanandapedia

Nithyanandapedia

Photograph of a small shrine set into the trunk and aerial roots of a large banyan tree. A dark arched opening between tangled grey roots reveals a lit oil lamp on a brass plate surrounded by pink flower petals in the shadowed interior. Incense smoke rises from a brass holder on a dark granite-topped stone bench in the foreground, flanked by two white-painted low walls. No people are visible.

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A photograph of a shaded entrance formed by thick, twisted banyan roots framing a dark recess. Inside, a brass oil lamp burns beside a small cluster of red flowers on the ground. In front, a dark stone bench holds a brass incense holder with three lit incense sticks sending up thin smoke. White-painted low walls flank the opening. No people are visible.

May 26 2013

2013-05-26 +1 copies

Photo of a shrine entrance tucked among the thick aerial roots of a large banyan tree. A single flame burns inside a dark cave-like opening at the centre. In front sits a small dark granite step-stool with yellow turmeric marks and scattered white and yellow flower petals on the ground. Two pale concrete walls frame the entrance. At the right edge, a partially visible person in white dhoti holds a wooden-handled tool with a red metal blade. Two reddish fruits lie at the lower right, and red earth covers the floor. No readable signage or identifiable a person depiction appears.

April 24 2013

A photograph inside a dark cave-like recess with thick, gnarled tree roots arching over the top and wrapping along the lower edge. At the centre sits a dark black cylindrical stone linga with horizontal ridges, draped with a red cloth decorated with small dots, and a bright oil lamp flame burns at its front. A yellow flower lies at the left and a pink flower rests on the right edge of the frame. No people are visible.

A photograph of a shrine chamber set into the roots of a large banyan tree, viewed through a narrow stone-framed entrance. Inside the dark recess sits a black stone linga-shaped form on a yoni-like base, with a single small oil lamp burning in front of it and a few yellow flowers scattered on the ground. Thick, twisted aerial roots frame the opening. No people are visible.

July 28 2013

A photograph of a dark cave-like opening framed by thick, twisting banyan roots and large grey tree trunks. Two low white concrete barriers stand at the entrance. Inside the opening, a floor design of marigold-like yellow flowers and red petals forms a circular pattern, with a scattering of red petals and white offerings at the threshold. No people are visible.

A dim night-time photograph of a sacred cave-like shrine beneath gnarled, exposed tree roots. A single oil lamp with a bright flame burns in the dark recess at the back. In the foreground, a small stone platform rests on the earth, scattered with yellow and white flower petals, and a yellow-flowered offering sits on a mound of freshly dug soil. A shallow plate holds a heap of sand or ash, and low pale concrete walls frame the pathway. No people are visible, and there is a faint white-clad figure at the far left edge only partly visible. A wooden-handled tool leans against the right wall.

A photograph of a dark, arched opening formed by the thick roots and trunk of a large banyan-like tree, framed by two weathered stone or concrete blocks. Inside the opening, a single small oil lamp with a flickering flame sits in a shallow dish on the ground, surrounded by white kolam-style line designs drawn on the earth. A partially visible blue sign bearing a white letter stands at the upper right. No people are visible in the scene.

A photograph of the inside of a large banyan tree trunk, where thick grey-brown aerial roots and buttress roots form a hollow enclosure lit by a shaft of sunlight. The ground is bare earth scattered with small petals or offering fragments, including a yellow and a red flower bit. No people are visible. Hanging aerial roots curve down on the left, and the bark shows vertical ridges.

A dark cave-like opening framed by thick, buttressed roots of a large banyan tree. Scattered flower petals in red, orange, yellow and white lie on the sandy earth at the entrance, and a thin rope or string runs diagonally across the ground toward a small wooden post inside. A black stone slab sits at the bottom edge of the frame. No people are visible.