The Ganges River has been at a very high level this year. Note that the river is so high that there are just a few steps showing in the photos above as compared to what is typical this time of year as seen in the following image.
Each morning our priests joined five Sama Veda specialists from Nepal to perform our yagyas. They started on the day of the full moon (poornima) with a Ganesha and Shiva Yagya. In the following photo you see Rudra Abishekam being performed.
Towards the end of the yagya scented sandalwood powder is mixed with water and rose water and poured over the lingam.
The lingam is decorated with flower malas and bilva leaves (green). Here the priest is offering camphor light (aarti) at the conclusion of the yagya while mantras are being chanted by the other priests.
The next day, the priests prepared a huge navagraha yagya to balance the influence of all the planets. When performed properly, a traditional yagya requires a lot of ingredients, many of which are available only in India.
First an elaborate navagraha yantra is constructed with cloth of specific colors, various grains, and fruit. Pujas and mantra japa are performed and then all the grain and other ingredients are offered into the yagya fire while the navagraha mantras are being chanted.
In the evening more pujas were performed along the banks of the Ganges.
It is quite a performance with chanting, drums and big aarti lamps.
The second two days of the Varanasi Yagyas consisted of a series of special pujas which, on the first day, were conducted individually for each of the sponsors and their relatives who had passed away. These pujas required special offerings of balls of rice sprinkled with black sesame seeds.
Special containers were made for the offerings. The leves are from a special tree, and the grass is darba grass; the sacred grass of the vedas.
Here all the little boats with rice and flower garlands are ready for the pujas on the first day.
Our priests visited five specific sacred spots along the banks of the Ganges and performed pujas and left offerings of flowers. At the end of the day, each little ancestor boat was decorated with a ghee lamp, which was then lit, and left to float down the river.
The yagya series concluded with pujas at a beautiful Shiva temple...
...which had a beautiful, tall Shiva lingam which was honored with a final Rudra abishekam and simple flower and bilva leaf decorations.
