Skip to content
Nithyanandapedia
A temple-style ritual under a canopy at an open pavilion. In the centre, a golden deity murti or utsava image sits on a green-draped throne with a golden arch, garlanded in white and orange flowers with red and yellow garlands. To its left stands a large floral-decorated kalasha-like arrangement with a multi-tiered stand of fruits and flowers. A priest in a pink and white dhoti with a pink turban holds a long ceremonial fan or chamara-like implement facing the murti, while a multi-tiered oil lamp stand and another devotee in white appear nearby. Golden leaf-shaped standards frame the scene and a hanging decorated canopy with coloured fringes covers the top. Blurred devotees in white are seen in the foreground.

More like this

Open the gallery
October 19 20152015-10-19A festive outdoor temple-style procession under a open-sided pavilion. Two bronze-gold utsava murtis (deity idols) are seated on a green-draped golden throne with a crown-like headpiece, garlanded with white and yellow flowers. Beside them stands a tall ornate gold kalasha-style vahana decorated with yellow marigold garlands and small figurines. A devotee in a pink dhoti and pink head cloth, bare-chested with a white upper cloth, waves a white fan or chamara toward the deities. Gold ceremonial umbrellas, gold peetha stands and a video camera on a tripod are visible, with a few seated devotees in the foreground.2015-10-19October 19 20152015-10-19March 27 20162016-03-27October 19 20152015-10-19October 19 20152015-10-19A photograph of a temple puja at an outdoor shrine with a white cloth backdrop. A priest with a bare upper body and white dhoti edged in pink stands at right, holding a lit oil lamp toward a deity murti seated on a green-draped throne. The murti wears red garlands, a red-and-gold crown and a decorated white garment. Another attendant in a pink-and-white dhoti stands at left beside a flower-garlanded shrine. Brass oil lamps stand on the right. Golden arches and yellow marigold garlands frame the scene, and a cameraman is visible behind the priest.2015-10-19A photograph of a temple ritual in progress before a golden throne-like canopy draped with green cloth. Two metal deity murtis, a central one wearing a gold crown with a red band and a silver necklace, and a smaller one with a pink crown and beaded garlands, sit on a green-draped platform decorated with red and yellow flower garlands. In the foreground at left, a bare-chested priest in a blue turban raises a brass lamp with lit flames in his right hand, wearing a rudraksha-style necklace. Behind him, a man in a cream dhoti sits with folded hands, and another attendant stands at right in a white garland. The scene suggests a puja or aarti performed before the murtis, with no clearly identifiable a person figure visible.2015-10-18October 19 20152015-10-19A temple ritual with a sacred fire burning in a central homa pit at the lower centre. Behind it, an ornate altar holds a deity murti draped in garlands of yellow and red flowers. A seated figure on the right, in a red-and-gold ornate throne, is adorned with floral garlands and a crown-like headdress. A young priest in a green garment and white dhoti, with a red-and-white garland, sits near the fire. On the left, a man bare-chested in an orange-yellow cloth and white dhoti tends the fire with a ladle while another attendant sits beside him. Brass offering plates, fruit, marigolds and oil lamps surround the fire.2016-02-02October 18 20152015-10-18A ceremonial outdoor stage under a canopy at an ashram event. On the right, a seated figure in a red-orange turban and matching orange-red robes sits on an ornate gold-and-red throne draped with yellow and red marigold garlands, hands pressed together in prayer, with a gold umbrella overhead. To the left, a gilded green-curtained shrine holds a deity murti with a tall gold crown and garlands, flanked by a second murti. A woman in a white sari with an orange border stands before the shrine holding an offering plate. Brass oil lamps with multiple wicks line the foreground, and brass trishula-topped staffs and gold umbrellas stand around the stage. Seated devotees in the lower foreground, mostly women, watch the proceedings.2015-10-19