Kala Bhairava Yagya - Kanchipuram- September 2005

Kala Bhairava Temple Yagya takes place every year on the 8th day after the full moon in September. The yagya is for the form of Shiva called Kala Bhairava who, among other things, controls the passage of time.



From a planetary perspective time is controlled by Saturn. This yagya directly eases the influence of Saturn in our lives, removes obstacles, and increases our enjoyment.



The yagya took place in a beautiful old temple in Kanchipuram, about 1 hour from Madras in South India.



As always, Ganesha is the first deity honored to remove all obstacle to the successful completion of the yagya.



The Kala Bhairava murti is always shown with a dog, because the dog is the vedic symbol of dharma; the natural order of life. In one of his right hands, you see Shiva's trident.



The yagya consisted of a fire yagya (homam) followed by the ritual bathing of the deity called an abishekam.



This yagya requires many different ingredients; specific seeds, leaves, twigs, bark, spices plus all the liquid ingredients for the abishekam.



Of course there are lots of fresh flowers and beautiful flower malas.



Everyone gets involved in the preparations.



First pujas are done in front of the Shiva temple. As is traditional a water pot (kalasha) with a coconut on top is used to invoke the deity. The purified and enlivened water will later be used in the abishekam.



Then the homam takes place.



At the end of the homam a small bundle of cloth with a coconut and various offerings is prepared and offered into the yagya fire to conclude the ceremony.



Afterwards, the priests take the water in a rather grand procession to the Kala Bharaiva temple. The Vedic tradition considers the god to be in the water pot, so he is carried carefully on the head of the priest and is shaded from the hot sun by a colorful umbrella.



At the temple the murti is first rubbed with sesame oil.



and then washed with water.



Milk is poured over the deity.



Then turmeric (haldi) is mixed with water and offered.



Then sandalwood.



Then scented sandalwood.



Then pancha amritam; a sweet mixture of chopped fruits, yogurt, ghee, and honey is offered by being smeared over the deity.



It is then washed off and the deity is sprinkled with vibhuti; sacred ash that is a favorite of Shiva.



Then the deity is dried off, dressed and decorated particularly with lots of fresh flower malas including a garland of lemons.



The yagya concludes with chanting the 1008 names of Kala Bhraiva.



Special ghee lamps are prepared.



The event concludes with special pujas and the recitation of special mantras while the ghee lamps are waved in front of the deiy.

Navagraha Temple Yagya-Kanchipuram-September 2005

September is turning out to be a really busy month starting with the Ganesha Chaturthi Yagya, the Navagraha Temple Yagya, and the Kala Bhairava Temple Yagya at the end of the month.

This yagya was for the Navagraha (9 planets) because of the intensity of combinations of Saturn, Mars, and Rahu/Ketu.



The day began with our priests chanting for several hours and continuing with a full series of pujas, one for each of the planets.



The pile of flowers being offered got quite high!



Then the homam (fire yagya) was performed at our own facility.



During the day, the priests went all over the place obtaining the most traditional ingredients and flower malas.



In the following photo you can see milk, rose water, various fruits, sandalwood, turmeric, coconut, dried fruits, dried leaves, fresh banana leaves, kumkum, vibhuti, ghee, sesame oil, etc. Its a lot of shopping!



Each planet has specific grains associated with it, as well as a color of cloth. During the homam, these items are offered into the yagya fire.



Once they reached the temple, the homam was repeated.



The effect of the fire offerings and the chanting of the mantras enlivens and purifies the temple atmosphere. The kalasha pot contain water which is also viewed as a container for the purity that is generated. So the priests take the water pots to the area of the temple where the navagraha murtis are located.




The abishekam portion of the yagya begins with pouring water, and then milk over the murtis.




Then various other offerings are made. In this photo, the murtis are sprinkled with vubhuti; sacred ash.



At the conclusion of the abishekam, each murti is dressed in a new cloth and decorated with sandalwood, and fresh flower malas. Ghee lamps are lit surrounding the murtis.



Since the navagraha puja is being performed this month in honor of Jupiter as he changes signs from Virgo to Libra, his decorations receive special attention.



Obviously yellow is his color!

Vinayaka Chaturthi - Bangalore - September 2005

This event which occurs once a year, was a little outside our usual yagya schedule from Saptami (7th day after the New Moon) to Poornima (Full Moon). So, Seetharam arranged to perform a special abishekam yagya in a temple near his Bangalore home. This yagya honors Ganesha (Vinayaka) as the remover of obstacles for the coming year.



The Ganesha is a very old carving in the dark green granite that is common is South India. The stone turns dark black when covered with sesame oil as is traditional during the abishekam yagya. In this image you can see the Ganesha seated on his vahana (mount or vehicle) with his right leg extended down as is common in images of the Goddess. So, this form of Ganesha is called Shakti Ganapati and Lakshmi is seated on his left leg.



The Abishekam consists of pouring various liquids over Ganesha as a form of offering; kind of a mixture of feeding and cleaning all at once. In addition to the milk you see in this image, water, curd, a mixture of fruit honey and yogurt called pancha amrita, turmeric, sandalwood, and rosewater are typical offerings.



All the Ganehsa murtis in the temple are bathed, fed and decorated; even the smallest ones as seen here.



The large Ganesha is dressed in a new silk dhoti provided by us, and many yards of flower garlands. In this image you can see how the flower completely cover even the brass arch and all that is visible is Ganesha's face in the center.



Afterwards the whole temple feels different; clean and recharged with a powerful subtlety.