Skip to content
Nithyanandapedia
Night-time temple ritual under a open-sided pavilion with string lights. A priest bare-chested with a yellow sash over his shoulder holds a large lit camphor aarti lamp high with both hands, flame blazing. Beside him a white-clad assistant in a dhoti with a red border stands with folded hands. In the foreground a devotee sits with his back to the camera beside a fire pit and rows of flower-decorated brass and wooden platforms with offerings and kalasha pots. At right a golden deity murti under a decorated canopy and flower garlands is visible. Several other white-robed participants sit nearby and a camera on a tripod films the scene. No readable a person identity cues are clearly established.

More like this

Open the gallery
December 15 20162016-12-15December 15 20162016-12-15March 06 20162016-03-06 +1 copiesMarch 06 20162016-03-06 +1 copiesMarch 06 20162016-03-06 +1 copiesDecember 07 20162016-12-07Night-time homa at an outdoor ashram site lit by strings of coloured lights and green lamps. A central fire burns in a brick fire pit with flowers, a brass bowl and offerings in front of it. Seated priests wear white dhotis and rudraksha malas, several with bare chests and some with orange or saffron shawls; one seated man in a red shawl sits beside an ornate golden deity throne garlanded with flowers. Standing figures in white dhotis watch, one in a white dhoti with a mala holding a small item at the centre. A tall standing man at right in a white dhoti and mala stands near the fire.2016-03-06 +1 copiesA night ritual in an open-sided pavilion with a white canopy and hanging lamps. At centre, a square wooden homa fire pit with a smoking fire sits on a red floor, scattered with petals and flowers. Several men in white dhotis stand and kneel around it; one holds a brass vessel and another pours offerings. On the right, a decorated deity murti with garlands of yellow and red flowers sits on a silver-and-gold setting, with brass lamps and a kalasha nearby. At left, seated men in white clothes chant into microphones, with fruit plates and a ceremonial bowl in front of them. A standing man wears an orange turban and rudraksha mala. Hanging decorations and lamps fill the upper area. No one in the scene is identifiable as a person by the cues required.2016-12-07Night ritual homa in a canopied temple hall strung with coloured lights. A fire burns in a tiered brass fire pit decorated with marigolds and red flowers, with fruit and offering trays in front. Two priests sit on the left in white dhotis and shawls; the central priest wears a yellow shawl, holds a ladle over the fire, and a bare-chested man on the right tends a basket of herbs. Behind them a golden deity murti and a golden throne with a seated figure in saffron-coloured robes sit beneath a garland. Yellow and green curtains and flower garlands frame the scene.2016-12-15A night ritual homa at a tented temple-style hall. A tiered wooden fire pit with smoke rising stands in the foreground on a red carpet, scattered with petals and flower offerings. Four priests in white dhotis stand at the fire pit; the central priest wears an orange shawl and holds offerings, and another wears a saffron-orange shawl. An older man with a shaved head stands at right, wearing white and a rudraksha mala. Behind them a decorated palanquin or deity vahana is garlanded with white and red flower garlands, with a golden deity murti at right. Brass lamps and a plate of fruit sit near the pit. Several seated men in white dhotis chant on the left, one holding a microphone. Visible people: about eight standing or seated in the foreground, with a larger crowd in the background.2016-12-07A homa or yagna performed in a tented temple hall at night. A golden tiered fire pit with a bright flame sits at centre, surrounded by yellow marigold garlands and flower petals. A bare-chested priest in white dhoti kneels at the fire pit tending it, while another priest in white dhoti with a red and saffron cloth on his head pours offerings from a vessel. Several seated priests in white dhotis line the background, and a seated figure in red sits to the right. Silver ritual vessels, fruits and a plate of offerings lie on a striped cloth. Behind them are gilded shrine structures, deity images and hanging festive lamps with colourful tassels.2017-09-26 +1 copiesA temple-style ritual hall with a homa fire pit in the foreground, its square white-edged ash bed holding a small burning flame and offerings. A man in a white dhoti with a yellow shawl stands at left holding a long pole topped with a red and yellow flag near an ornate multi-tiered golden shrine with a kalasha-like structure and a deity murti. Another priest in white with a gold border bends over the fire, a second attendant in white stands at right filming with a camera, and two seated men in white with rudraksha-like beaded necklaces sit at the right with a microphone. Gold framed deity images and standing statues sit in the background with stacked chairs and equipment, and a golden-framed picture hangs on the wall. Several people are visible, all in traditional white ritual dress.2015-09-17 +1 copies