At night the temple gopuram (tower) looks beautiful as one looks in towards the Durga temple which is seen directly ahead.
At this temple, like most in India, they are very strict about not taking photos of the deity. But Seetharam snuck this one at night, so it is rather blurry. The Durga temple is right ahead and you can get a glimpse of the solid gold kavacha (armour) on the Durga was wearing after our abishekam.
Rahu and Ketu have changed signs so Seetharam arranged for a Rahu/Ketu yagya for which one of the ingredients are these beautiful purple flowers.
With all the kind donations from our monthly yagya participants, we purchased fresh new dhotis for the young men who are being trained in the patasalas to be vedic pundits. This one is in the Kumbakonam area. It is a primarily agricultural area and while these individuals are not poverty stricken, they lead a simple life in the patasala and the gift of a dhoti and fun meal is more meaningful than one might expect.
A couple of days later, we did the same thing in Kanchipuram at another patasala; dhotis and a festive meal.
The support of westerners like us is genuinely meaningful and a valuable source of inspiration because it shows that the vedic tradition is valued even outside of India.
