Skip to content
Nithyanandapedia
Night outdoor fire ritual at a homa pit lined with stone steps and scattered marigold and rose petals. A man in a saffron-orange turban and white dhoti with a shawl, wearing a rudraksha-style garland and gold bangles, stands holding a flaming ladle and oil vessel over the fire. Beside him a shaved-headed priest in white dhoti with a gold-beaded mala holds a silver vessel. Behind them seated and standing participants in white clothes, some with folded hands, sit under strings of green leaves and hanging flowers, with a carved wooden drum-like object at right. Oil lamps and brass plates lie on white cloth. Ritual homa with fire offerings.

More like this

Open the gallery
Night fire ritual at an outdoor homa or yagna pit, lit by the flames. A man in white dhoti and a cream turban holds a burning camphor flame aloft with a lamp-like vessel, and wears a long rudraksha-style mala with a gold necklace. Beside him a bald assistant in white holds a silver bowl, and another man in white sits behind a copper-coloured peetha or throne-like backrest with hands folded. Marigold petals are scattered on stone steps around the fire pit, and a seated figure in the foreground shows only the back of his head and shoulders. Other men in white stand with palms joined in namaskar, and seated children and adults watch from the left. Festoons of leaves and a decorated pillar hang overhead.2010-10-16October 16 20102010-10-16Night photograph of a homa fire ritual outdoors. A sunken rectangular fire pit with bright flames sits in the foreground, with marigold petals scattered on its stone rim. A priest in a saffron turban and white dhoti stands at left, pouring from a brass vessel. A second priest in white with a gold-bead necklace stands centre, holding a ladle over the fire. Behind him a seated man in white with a gold necklace holds a lamp. Two men in white dhotis stand at right with hands folded in namaskar, and another stands at back left. A large carved wooden drum-shaped object sits near the fire. Strings of green leaves and a painted pillar with floral motifs hang overhead, with brass rings above. Other white-clad men and children sit at the far left.2010-10-16Night outdoor homa at a fire pit lined with stone steps and scattered marigold petals. A man in a cream turban and white dhoti with a sash, wearing gold and beaded necklaces, stands with palms pressed together in namaskar over the fire. Beside him a shaved-headed priest in white dhoti holds a silver vessel, another priest in white stands with hands folded, and a seated group in white and yellow watches on the left. A large carved stone disc rests beside the pit, with a kalasha-like vessel and brass bowls nearby.2010-10-16A night homa at a square stone fire pit, its tall flames rising in the centre. Two priests stand behind the pit in white dhotis and shawls; the one on the left wears an orange-yellow turban and holds a lit torch, while the one beside him, shaved-headed and in white with a red-bordered cloth, stands with hands together. Both wear beaded necklaces. A third man on the right in white holds a brass plate. Seated devotees in white sit on the left behind a white cloth, and a large carved wooden disc stands beside the pit. Marigold petals are scattered on the stone steps, and green leaf garlands and a hanging orange-and-red decoration hang overhead.2010-10-16A rotated night photograph of a fire ritual. Several priests in white dhoti and shawl clothing stand in a row, several wearing gold necklaces and bead malas. The foreground priest holds a bright flaming vessel in both hands, and a large brass lamp or pot with flames rises from a brick fire pit at left. Behind them, a row of devotees in white and yellow clothing stands in the dim background beneath hanging green leaves and marigold garlands. A large round brass plate or drum sits in the lower left foreground, and a wrapped cloth banner hangs near the right side. This appears to be an evening homa or fire puja with offerings being made in a fire pit.2010-10-16Night outdoor fire ritual. A central figure in a white dhoti and white shawl, wrapped in a cream-yellow turban and wearing gold-bead necklaces, stands with hands pressed together in prayer. Beside him a shaven-headed priest in white holds a silver vessel, and other white-clad men stand with folded hands. Seated devotees in white sit at left. Behind them hang mango-leaf strings, a round brass ring, a colourful painted pillar and a carved wooden disc. Four standing men are visible, with several seated people at left.2010-10-16October 16 20102010-10-16 +1 copiesNight homa ritual at an open-air fire pit, a stepped stone altar with a large blaze rising from its square well. Three priests in white dhotis and shawls stand around it: the front priest in a saffron-orange turban with a gold necklace holds a kalasha-like vessel; the middle priest with a shaved head holds a lit oil lamp and a silver plate; the third, on the right, in white with a red border, pours offerings. Marigold and rose petals are scattered on the altar steps. Seated devotees in white clothes watch from the left, and brass lamps and plates sit at the right edge. Painted pillars and leafy garlands hang in the background, and a carved wooden disc lies beside the fire pit.2010-10-16 +1 copiesA night homa at a square fire pit, with tall flames rising from the stone-edged pit. Three priests in white dhoti-style clothing stand at the fire. The left priest wears an orange-saffron turban and a gold bead necklace and holds a small flame-lit vessel. The middle priest, also with gold beads, stands beside him, and a third priest on the right in white carries a brass tray. Flower petals are scattered on the stone steps, a large carved wooden disc stands to the right, and a seated audience in white sits at the left edge. A strip of leaf garlands and hanging decorations is visible above.2010-10-16 +1 copiesNight photograph of a homa fire ritual in an open courtyard. A square brick fire pit with a lit flame sits on a white-cloth platform strewn with flower petals. A man in a white dhoti with a yellow-orange head wrap stands at the pit pouring an offering, while a shaved-headed priest in white dhoti with red borders and a gold-bead garland holds a brass plate. Another attendant in white with a garland stands at right beside a carved wooden stand, and ceremonial lamps and brass vessels sit at the front. Seated devotees in white and colourful clothing watch from the left under a leafy garland-decorated canopy, with a large red flower garland visible at lower right.2010-10-16 +1 copiesNight photograph of a homa fire ceremony at a pit with a bright flame and brass vessels on a white cloth. A central man in white dhoti and shawl with a tan turban and gold bead necklace stands with palms pressed together in prayer. Beside him, a man in white with a red-bordered dhoti and gold beads holds a silver vessel. Other priests in white stand and kneel with folded hands, and seated boys in white watch. Decorated hanging cloth and leaf garlands frame the scene, with a carved wooden disc behind the fire. In the foreground a bald man in white with a gold necklace faces the fire. Six or more people are visible.2010-10-16