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Night photo of a homa fire ritual at an open temple courtyard. In the centre, a bare-chested priest in white dhoti with a gold-and-saffron cloth draped over the shoulder holds a silver vessel with a coconut and fruit toward a stone fire pit with bright flames and flower garlands. Beside him, another priest in a white dhoti with yellow borders holds ritual items and performs the offering. At right, a priest with folded palms wears red beads and a yellow-and-blue dhoti. Brass pots, marigold garlands and red offerings lie around the fire, and a shrine with deity murti and wooden pillars with bamboo scaffolding stands behind. Several more priests in white are visible at left.

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Night-time homa at an open-air temple pavilion. In the foreground a large fire burns in a tiered yagna kunda decorated with marigold garlands and red kumkum. Behind it a priest in white dhoti with a saffron-and-gold shawl holds a vessel over the flames and offers oblations, while a second priest in cream dhoti with a gold border holds a bundle of kusha grass beside him. At right a man in a saffron dhoti with a red rudraksha mala and bare chest, hands folded in anjali, stands by a table of flowers and offerings. Behind them more white-clad priests tend additional fire pits under bamboo-supported roofing, with a deity shrine lit at the back. Coconuts, flowers and brass pots sit on the ground.2018-03-02Night-time homa at an outdoor temple courtyard. Several priests in white dhotis and bare upper bodies stand around raised stone fire pits, one with a large flame. A priest in a yellow-and-white dhoti holds a ladle or offering over the central fire, while another with folded hands stands beside him. On the right, a golden deity murti or ornate image is decorated with red and yellow flower garlands, with fruits, coconuts and brass vessels arranged on a red-draped table. Marigold garlands line the fire platforms. Scaffolding and pillars frame the background, and a lit shrine is visible at left.2018-03-02March 02 20182018-03-02December 07 20162016-12-07October 16 20102010-10-16 +1 copiesOctober 16 20102010-10-16 +1 copiesA Vedic Rudra homa is underway outdoors before a large seated gathering. In the centre, a bare-chested priest with a saffron-and-white turban and a green-and-gold sash pours an offering from a small vessel into a brick fire pit where flames rise high. Beside him, another bare-chested priest in white dhoti with a pink-and-purple shawl holds his hands together in prayer. At right stands a young assistant in an orange-brown shawl and rudraksha mala beside an ornately decorated altar with carved figures and flower garlands. Brass lamps, offering bowls and baskets of grains sit on the ground. Behind them, rows of devotees in white with red shawls sit or stand, many with palms joined.2016-07-02 +1 copiesJuly 16 20152015-07-16March 02 20182018-03-02Night outdoor homa at an ashram courtyard. A brick fire pit with lit flames sits on a white stepped stone platform scattered with flower petals. A woman in white with a yellow head wrap bends forward pouring an offering from a metal bowl into the fire. Beside her a bald man in white with a red-and-yellow cloth and rudraksha-style beads holds a brass bowl of red flowers. Behind them a standing man in white with a gold chain and beads holds a ritual vessel, and a woman in white with a yellow shawl stands further back. Seated devotees in white line the left side. A large carved wooden drum-like object and brass lamps with oil flames sit to the right, with a garland of red flowers near a brass vessel. Decorated painted pillars and leafy garlands frame the scene.2010-10-16 +2 copiesNight photograph of a homa fire ritual in an open outdoor courtyard. A large stone fire pit with rising flames sits at the centre, with offerings of flowers and red petals around its base. Three priests in white dhotis stand behind it; the central priest wears a white shawl and a rudraksha mala and holds a vessel over the fire, while a priest on the right, in a white garment with a mala, leans in to assist. A priest with a white turban stands on the left. A wooden carved disc stands beside the pit. A seated priest in the foreground, shown from behind, holds his hands in namaskar. A row of seated devotees watches from the left, and a standing devotee with folded hands appears at the right edge. Brass lamps, plates of offerings and a decorated seat sit on a cloth to the right, under strings of leaf garlands and a painted pillar.2010-10-16 +1 copiesNight 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.2010-10-16