Skip to content
Nithyanandapedia
Night photo of a homa or yagna ceremony under a temporary pandal. A seated priest in white robes and a shaved head sits behind a low wooden table with brass bowls and offerings, while a seated figure in a red-and-gold chair wears a blue garment and a tall ornate headdress. Several white-clad priests in dhoti and shawl sit on a white cloth at the front, some near a wooden drum-like stool. Smoke rises from a fire area, with stacked firewood and silver plates of offerings in the foreground. Behind them stand large colourful deity murti figures, including a multi-armed goddess with a lion, and hanging bunting, leaves and tassels decorate the pandal. Several other people are seated at the side. The seated figure in blue and gold is not clearly identifiable from appearance, so no identity is asserted.

More like this

Open the gallery
October 15 20102010-10-15October 15 20102010-10-15 +1 copiesNight-time outdoor ritual homa at a temple-style pandal decorated with white and colourful draped fabric, garlands and hanging tassels. Several priests in white dhotis and white shawls sit cross-legged on mats around a square fire pit, one tending the fire with a ladle. Behind them, a seated figure in a turquoise robe and crown sits on a red and gold throne, and a figure in saffron/orange robes stands nearby. Large deity murtis with a multi-armed goddess form are displayed with garlands; brass lamps, bowls of fruit, rice, coconuts and firewood sticks lie in the foreground. Smoke rises through the lamplit scene. Approximately ten people are visible.2010-10-15 +1 copiesNight-time puja in an open-air pandal before a decorated deity murti of a goddess with multiple arms, seated on a lion, draped with garlands and flanked by white floral-decorated figures. Several priests in white dhotis and shawls sit cross-legged on white cloth, one tapping a wooden drum-like stand, while offerings of fruit, bananas, plates of rice, a brass oil lamp and incense sticks are arranged on the floor. Behind them an orange-robed figure stands, and a seated person in a blue garment sits on an ornate red-and-gold throne. Strings of lights and bunting decorate the scene, and a woman in a yellow sari with a long braid sits in the foreground. Several people are present, including the seated figure on the throne; the physical count is limited to those visible.2010-10-15October 15 20102010-10-15 +1 copiesOctober 15 20102010-10-15October 15 20102010-10-15Night ritual at an outdoor puja pandal decorated with leaf festoons, hanging colourful tassels and a string of lights. A large murti of a goddess with a crown and garlands stands in the background at left. Seated in white dhotis, several priests with bare upper bodies and rudraksha malas perform a homa at a low fire-pit platform, with brass plates of offerings, flowers and sweets nearby. A person in a blue garment and a red-cushioned gold throne sits at the rear right, and a saffron-robed figure stands behind the priests. Devotees in yellow and white sit on the ground in the foreground.2010-10-15October 15 20102010-10-15October 15 20102010-10-15October 15 20102010-10-15 +1 copiesNight-time homa ritual held in front of a large decorated deity display with a figure in red and gold; a seated figure in blue robes and multiple garlands sits on a red and gold throne at the upper right, a shaved-headed priest in an orange robe stands behind, and several priests in white dhoti and shawls with gold-coloured necklaces sit around a square fire pit with brass vessels and offerings, performing the ritual. Strings of lights and colourful bunting hang in the background, with a plate of fruit and flowers in front. a person is the seated figure on the throne in blue, wearing a ceremonial gold necklace and a long dark hairstyle; he is presiding over the ritual.2010-10-15