Skip to content
Nithyanandapedia
A shaved-headed priest in white dhoti and shawl, with white sacred markings on forehead and arm and a rudraksha-style mala, sits cross-legged at night performing puja. He pours from a silver vessel onto a large black shivalinga draped in white cloth and garlanded with red and yellow flowers. Rows of smaller black lingams with white cloth and yellow flower garlands extend behind him. Silver puja vessels, a bell, a small lamp and a plate of white flowers lie on the platform, which has red-and-white striped edges. Oil lamps glow in the background.

More like this

Open the gallery
September 08 20112011-09-08Photo of a temple ritual in a gilded shrine. In the left foreground a shaved-headed priest in white dhoti and shawl, bare-chested with a gold chain, sits and pours liquid from a silver vessel toward a central figure. The central figure is a seated statue in saffron-orange robes, an orange turban, a beaded necklace and a garland of yellow and red flowers. Behind it stand a tall golden deity murti with a red cloth backdrop, a yellow and red flower garland hung with large yellow beads, and a white draped cloth on the right. Brass lamps, silver bowls and a metal tray with flowers sit on the altar in front.2011-01-17A shaved-headed priest in white dhoti and shawl with gold trim sits cross-legged before a square fire pit at an outdoor ritual site, wearing a long rudraksha-style bead necklace and a forehead tilak. He holds a ladle over the flames while brass bowls of offerings, coconuts and yellow flowers lie on an orange cloth beside him. Behind him musicians play a drum and a wind instrument, and an assistant in white shirt watches. Red and white striped walls and green plants frame the courtyard.2011-12-17December 26 20102010-12-26Night photo of a shaved-headed priest in white dhoti and white upper cloth, seated on a red-and-white platform, offering flowers at a black Shiva lingam draped with white cloth and garlanded with yellow and red flowers. Beside it sit a brass kalasha-style vessel, a conch shell, a small brass oil lamp with a flame, a handbell and a plate of white flowers. Many more lingams with garlands stand in rows behind him under floodlights. In the foreground, several women with hair in braids and flowers sit with their backs to the camera, facing the ritual. The scene reads as a lingam abhishekam-style puja.2011-04-17A bare-chested man with white ash markings on his forehead and arms kneels with palms pressed together in anjali mudra, eyes closed, at a raised white platform. He wears a white dhoti with a gold border and a long rudraksha mala. In front of him sits a brass kalasha-style vessel decorated with white and yellow flowers and purple blooms. Behind him, figures in orange and red robes sit in rows in a hall with maroon drapes, golden pillars and a seated crowd in the background.2019-01-05A night-time ritual photograph at a temple with a dark background and pillars. In the centre, a bare-chested priest with a red tilak on his forehead, a rudraksha mala and a gold pendant stands holding a small offering vessel with both hands. Beside him, another bare-chested priest in a gold-and-white dhoti holds a palm leaf and gazes downward. Behind them, three more men in white dhotis and one with a striped yellow-and-blue cloth stand with arms folded, one wearing a saffron-orange cloth. At right, a silver platform is decorated with red and white garlands, yellow marigolds, green leaves and a gold cloth draped over a tall stand.2018-03-02January 06 20182018-01-06December 01 20112011-12-01December 26 20102010-12-26A shaved-headed priest in white dhoti and shawl with red-and-white borders sits before silver ritual trays, holding a red apple in one hand and reaching toward a small silver bowl with the other. White tripundra lines and a red bindi mark his forehead, and he wears gold beaded necklaces with rudraksha malas. Behind him stands a second figure in saffron-orange robes and a gold chain, beside a microphone stand, and a gilded panel with red drapery is at right. Pink flowers lie on a silver tray in the foreground, with blurred heads of seated people at the bottom edge.2010-10-19August 09 20072007-08-09