Skip to content
Nithyanandapedia
Night-time ritual inside a white tented pavilion with hanging paper lanterns in pink, orange and yellow. In the foreground, several shaved-headed priests in white and orange dhotis sit cross-legged on red mats, one with a yellow shawl, facing a large ornate golden altar. Before them is a decorated golden kalasha-style structure draped with red and white flower garlands, with brass lamps, fruit trays, banana leaves and plates of offerings. Behind, a seated figure in a deep red robe with a rudraksha mala and a golden crown-like headdress sits on a gold-and-red throne, with an attendant beside him. Devotees fill the rows on the right, and a screen shows a video.

More like this

Open the gallery
A large tented ritual hall lit by overhead lamps and hung with strings of colourful paper lanterns. A man seated on a gold-and-red throne at the centre wears a red turban, a long rudraksha mala and a red shawl; a tall parasol-like canopy stands behind him. In front of him, several priests sit on the floor behind a red-draped low table, bare-chested with saffron and yellow cloths and white dhotis, performing puja. The table holds brass plates of sliced fruit, flowers, betel leaves, coconuts, a brass lamp and a tall brass stand. Garlands of red and yellow flowers decorate a silver-coloured deity figure on the left. Several hundred devotees, many in white and pastel saris, sit in rows on the floor facing the throne. Incense smoke drifts through the hall.2016-12-07December 07 20162016-12-07A photograph of a large ceremonial hall with a striped tented ceiling hung with colourful tassels and paper lanterns. In the left foreground a bearded man with a red-and-gold turban, rudraksha mala and garland sits on an ornate gold throne with a canopy, a probable Swamiji candidate by visible cues of turban, mala and ceremonial dress. Before him, a white-haired shaven-chested priest in white dhoti with yellow sash sits behind a wooden homa/yagna platform holding a ladle. Another priest in an orange-and-yellow shawl stands pouring from a vessel while seated devotees in white and yellow sit in rows. Fruits, leaves, bowls and offering trays cover the red mat in front, and a crowd fills the hall.2016-12-07December 07 20162016-12-07A large pavilion ceremony with a fire pit (homa kunda) at centre, where a priest in white dhoti with a yellow sash feeds offerings into the flames. An elderly bare-chested priest with white hair and a rudraksha mala sits in the foreground, facing the fire. To the left, a seated figure in saffron-red robes with a crown-like orange headwrap and garlands sits on a gold throne (peetha) beneath a decorative umbrella. Trays of mangoes, bananas, coconuts, betel leaves and brass vessels lie around the fire, and a brass kalasha is visible. Hundreds of seated devotees fill the hall under hanging colourful streamers and fans.2016-12-07December 07 20162016-12-07December 07 20162016-12-07 +1 copiesDecember 07 20162016-12-07December 07 20162016-12-07A wide photograph of a large tented ritual hall during an evening puja. Hanging colourful tassel decorations and lamps fill the white canopy. In the centre, a red-draped platform holds banana leaf plates of offerings, fruit trays, a brass oil lamp and a kalasha-like vessel. Priests in white dhotis and saffron-coloured cloth stand and sit around it, one holding a ritual object. A seated figure on a golden throne-like seat at the back is wearing a white garment with flower garlands and a red-brown shawl. Hundreds of seated devotees, many bare-chested in white and orange, fill the floor on the right. A camera on a crane overlooks the scene.2016-12-07December 07 20162016-12-07December 07 20162016-12-07