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Nithyanandapedia
A seated priest with a bare upper torso and a yellow and green striped cloth wrapped around his waist faces away from the camera, arranging offerings on a colourful square yantra-style mandala drawn on a white cloth atop a low wooden platform. Yellow, orange, red, green and blue sections are scattered with pink and white flower petals, whole fruits including oranges, apples and bananas, a split coconut, and a small heap of white rice or flour on a banana leaf at his feet. A wristwatch is visible on his left wrist, and an oil lamp and brass pots sit nearby on the floor. The setting suggests a puja or homa preparation.

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A woman with grey hair in a bun sits cross-legged on the floor before a decorated altar, wearing a yellow and red-checked silk wrap and a yellow shawl, with a white tilak on her forehead. Before her is a low wooden platform covered with a colourful geometric yantra-like mandala of coloured powders and flower petals, surrounded by fruits, coconuts, bowls of grains, lit brass oil lamps and banana leaves. Behind her, a green draped table holds ornate metal kalasha pots and decorated deity murtis with conical painted headdresses. On the left, a framed wall-mounted portrait labelled "Paramahamsa Nithyananda" is on the wall beside a standing cutout of a figure in orange and red wearing a garland and beads, seated on a red throne. Several framed photos hang on the upper wall. One physical person is present.2021-11-14November 14 20212021-11-14November 28 20152015-11-28 +1 copiesA photograph of a ritual homa in progress at a temple room with yellow walls and framed black-and-white portraits along the top wall. A man with swept-back grey hair, bare-chested, wearing a yellow dhoti with a striped and green-bordered shawl draped over his shoulder, stands at right raising a lit lamp in his right hand. Before him is a green-draped table with a decorated deity murti crowned with a red and gold headdress, flanked by conical kalasha pots with fruit and leaves. In front lies a bed of flower petals, bananas, oranges and coconut, with a fire pit burning at the bottom of the frame, a brass oil lamp at left, and offerings in steel trays scattered across the floor.2021-11-14A photograph of a ritual puja inside a yellow-walled shrine room. A bare-chested man in a yellow dhoti and a checked plaid shawl stands at right, hands together over a decorated altar. The altar holds a green cloth, a kalasha-style decorated figure with a crown-like headdress, banana and fruit offerings, a colourful geometric kolam rangoli on the floor, and brass oil lamps. Behind the altar a life-size cutout or statue depicts a bearded figure in an orange turban and rudraksha-style garland with white flower garlands, seated on a throne with yellow cloth. Framed black-and-white portraits line the upper wall. One person is visible.2021-11-14November 14 20212021-11-14November 14 20212021-11-14A seated ritual gathering in a community hall during a Hindu homa or puja. Foreground: a bare-backed priest with his hair in a bun, wearing a blue and gold striped shawl over white dhoti, faces a row of worshippers. Centre: a group of men in white dhotis with white and tilak marks on their foreheads sit with palms joined in anjali on green mats. A woman in a yellow shawl and striped sari sits near the front. Before them are brass plates of yellow marigolds and pink petals, a small brass bell, a handbell, and several coconuts arranged in woven leaf baskets on banana leaves with rice. Behind, other devotees in saris and kurtas watch seated on the floor, and a white-shirted man stands to the side.2021-11-14A photo of a puja being performed on a striped woven mat in a yellow-walled room. A bare-chested man in white dhoti with a gold border sits cross-legged, wearing glasses, a red-beaded rudraksha mala and a gold pendant, hands folded. Before him are brass plates of bananas, coconut halves, a green apple, betel leaves, red flowers, a brass bowl and a small lamp. A large garland of white and red flowers and a yellow cloth lie on a raised altar table beside a pitcher and a ritual book. A pedestal fan stands behind him.2021-06-11November 23 20162016-11-23A close photo of a priest performing a ritual at a table draped with a green cloth. He wears a white dhoti with a striped border, a red-and-black patterned shawl and a red rudraksha-style mala. He cuts a green coconut on a metal plate, with rose petals scattered around. Nearby are brass oil lamps, a small metal bowl, a woven basket, a bundle of dried grass tied with a yellow cloth and green leaves, and a multicolored decorative box. The setting suggests a puja or abhishekam offering.2021-11-14A photograph of a bhumi puja ground preparation: a large square floral and grain kolam on a white cloth, decorated with yellow marigold borders, with red, orange, green and yellow powder squares arranged in a geometric mandala with a central lotus-like pattern. Yellow and white garlands hang on the right beside a pot-shaped vessel. Around the kolam sit baskets and bowls of banana, rose and flower petals, rice, donut-shaped sweets, cut vegetables and betel-type leaves, with brass plates and oil lamps at left. No people are visible; only partial white-clad legs appear at the top edge.2016-11-23