During our Guru Poornima yagya series our Varanasi priests performed a series of special yagyas to the rishis who were the original seers of the Vedas. These rishis are known as the saptarishi (sapta=seven). As the mythology goes, they are the mind-borne sons of Brahma the creator. In addition we performed a yagya for Vyasa; the rishi who organized the Vedas into four "books"; Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva. So these individuals are in some ways the originators of the vedic tradition that we are all gaining so much benefit from. So it seems fitting to honor them at this time of year.
As is traditional each rishi is represented by his own kalasha pot, nicely decorated and arranged on the yantra that represents strength and power.
Special pujas are done for each rishi to bring their blessings and knowledge into our lives.
At the conclusion of the pujas, the kalashas look really nice!
The homa kund all ready for the fire yagya to begin.
The final offerings of ghee into the yagya fire.
Vyasa divided the Vedas into the 4 parts that we know today. He was also the author of many Puranas, and the Mahaabharata which includes the Bhagavad Gita. He is one of the eight individuals (Chiranjeevin) who have immortality and are supposedly still around somewhere even today...in any case, he is certainly a great rishi!
He received a nice abishekam.
And pujas with final aarti (offering of light) as shown here.
The temple where the Vyasa abishekam took place included a wonderful Shiva temple with a huge lingam! Since Shiva, as Dakshinamurti is the original guru, he was honored as well.
An abishekam is like taking a nice cooling shower. With a lingam of this size it take a lot of water and two priests!
Afterwards the lingam is dressed in a fresh dhoti and beautiful flower garlands.
Looking down on the homa kund nicely decorated with colored rice flour.
The fire yagya underway with 7 priests chanting.
The yagya fire always seems to build to a fine conclusion. Notice the spectators in the background. Yagyas are always fun to watch and our priests tend to do them more elaborately than what is usually seen in a temple, so they tend to attract attention.
After the yagya fire is completed, they take the water that has been purified in the kalasha pots and offer it over the lingam using these special objects that were originally made from a cow's horn.
In this case it is made from brass and is being used to offer milk.
Note the way the tip has been shaped to look like a bull with curved horns; Shiva's vahana (mount) is the bull named Nandi.
The final aarti is offered along with the chanting of mantras.
The lovely deep greeen colors of the nearby rice paddys make for a peaceful setting!
