This is our second visit to the temple. We were here last year as well. It is typical of the huge numbers of small temples in South India. Here you can see the beautiful sculptural carvings on the temple, nicely painted. On the left you see Shiva sitting with Parvati (his wife). Note Nandi, Shiva's bull below them. I'm not sure why Parvati has green skin though.
And here you see Ganesha and his vahana (mount) Mushika the mouse, to the right.
The Ganesha temple after preparations for the abishekam are complete. The stone Ganesha is made of is a south indian green granite. But with the application of sesame oil, it turns a dark black.
As always we bring all the traditional ingredients and it takes some time to prepare them before the abishekam begins.
Lots and lots of fresh flower malas. The white flowers are jasmine and smell absolutely divine. Note the intricacy of the work to make the malas round. The green bands are leaves from the carnations.
The pouring of milk....
and scented sandal paste...
After each offering Ganesha's eyes are wiped clear, a flower mala is placed over his shoulders and a brief puja with offerings of light (camphor) and fruit, coconut, and incense is made. Here you see white vibhuti coating him.
Finally, he is dried off, dressed, and decorated. In addition to the malas here you see his silver kavacha or armor.
At the same temple there is a fine small lingam so we do abishekam there too, complete with new dhoti, decorations, and flower malas.
As a part of the monthly series, we offer the Satyanarayana Yagya, which is for a specific form of Vishnu who brings prosperity and harmony to families.
In addition to the usual Satyanarayana pujas, we include a full abishekam...
...and small homam
....and a very fine decoration with flowers.
Its a nice yagya that really adds to an individual's experience of peacefulness and satisfaction in family matters.
And that is all for March! See you in April for Akshaya Trittia; the day of balance and harmony.
