Skip to content
Nithyanandapedia
Night outdoor ritual before a golden five-headed cobra hood above a deity murti decorated with yellow and white marigold garlands. A man in a rust-orange unstitched robe stands at right with palms pressed together in namaskar beside a flaming fire pit sending up smoke. A purple-and-turquoise draped table holds more garlanded murtis and offerings wrapped in red, purple and gold cloth. Several women in saris and salwar kameez stand with folded hands on a raised stage behind.

More like this

Open the gallery
October 07 20132013-10-07Night-time ritual on stone steps before a fire pit. A large golden cobra hood (naga) with five raised heads stands over a deity murti decorated with yellow marigold garlands and a pink cloth. A man in a maroon-red robe and a white bundle held in both hands stands to the right beside the flames, eyes lowered. Behind the altar, several people in white dhotis and orange-red shawls and women in pale saris stand with palms pressed together. Brass vessels, a bell and offering plates sit on the platform, with a rising flame in the foreground.2013-10-08Night photo of a homa at an outdoor stage. A large golden hooded cobra canopy (naga) rises above a deity murti decorated with yellow marigold garlands, and a blue cloth covers the altar base. A fire blazes in a stone fire pit in the foreground, with brass vessels, a bowl and offerings nearby. A man with an orange turban and orange-brown cloth sits cross-legged at left, holding a ladle over the fire with a rudraksha mala at his wrist. Behind the altar, several people in white shirts and pants, a woman in a grey sari and women in pink salwar stand and watch. A kalasha and small garland-decorated murtis flank the altar. Hindu homa-yagna ritual.2013-10-07Night outdoor fire ritual at a riverside ghat with stone steps. A standing man in an orange-red sannyasi robe with a bandaged right forearm and a red tilak holds his hands together in prayer beside a burning homa fire sending up flames and smoke. Behind a golden cobra-hood canopy and a deity murti decorated with yellow marigold garlands and a pink cloth, a shallow altar holds offerings and flower garlands. Several devotees in white and orange clothing stand in the background with palms pressed together.2013-10-08October 08 20132013-10-08October 08 20132013-10-08Night outdoor homa at a temple-style platform. A man in orange-saffron robes and a saffron head wrap stands at left, bare-chested with a shawl, pouring or offering something from a small vessel toward the fire. A large fire burns in a metal yagna pit in the foreground, with brass pots, a silver kalasha-style vessel and offering plates on the floor. Behind is a raised altar draped in blue cloth with flower garlands on deity murti, one under a golden multi-hooded naga canopy. Seated devotees and a woman in a pink sari stand in the background.2013-10-07Photo 11737875Night-time outdoor ritual photograph. A large golden naga (serpent hood) canopy stands at left over a deity murti draped in flower garlands of yellow and red blossoms. Centre: a purple-draped altar piled with yellow marigold garlands, where a sacred fire is burning. At right, a man in an orange-brown dhoti and orange-brown head wrap stands bare-chested, pouring from a metal vessel into a fire pit with a bright flame. Behind him, a woman in an orange sari stands with hands folded, and another person in white stands near a metal vessel, with a few other figures in the background, consistent with a homa or abhishekam.2013-10-07October 08 20132013-10-08October 08 20132013-10-08Night photograph of a homa at an outdoor altar. A priest in a saffron-orange dhoti and matching shawl, with an orange turban, leans forward at left and pours an offering with his right hand into a large, roaring fire pit. Behind the fire, a blue draped table holds a deity murti decorated with a yellow-and-white marigold garland and pink silk, flanked by smaller garlanded idols. A golden multi-hooded naga canopy rises above the murti. Silver vessels, a kalasha-like pot and a brass pedestal sit near the fire. Several seated devotees in white are faintly visible in the background, and a figure in pink stands at right. Stone steps with red-and-white striped borders frame the scene.2013-10-07