Durga Yagya - March 2007 - Ramnagar

March is the month of Vasant Navaratri - the spring-time celebration of the divine feminine. The puja.net group sponsored a special Chandi Homam (fire yagya) in both North India, Varanasi, and South India, Kanchipuram on Monday, March 26th.

In Varansi,the yagya was held at a beautiful Durga temple in the Ramnagar Fort across the Ganges from the main city. The fort itself is abandoned but the temple is still in use.



The introductory pujas were performed in a shaded area in front of the temple.





Final puja offerings of flowers.



In the most traditional style of yagya performance, the fire must be started without the use of matches...friction must be used! Here you see the priests starting the fire.






Soon the yagya fire is roaring and offerings are being made.





This portion of the yagya is being performed in a portico in front of and under the main temple.



Final offerings are being made into the yagya fire.



I have always been impressed with the sincerity of the priests as they offer their prayers for the well-being of the yagya sponsors and the world at-large.



Final aarti (puja) being performed with the yagya fire visible on the lower level and the temple above it.

Spring Navaratri - March 2007 - Kanchipuram

In the vedic tradition, the goddesses are seen as the source of all prosperity and so there are Navaratri celebrations in the spring at the beginning of the growing season and the fall at the time of harvest. During these times the major forms of the goddesses (Lakshmi, Durga, Saraawati) are honored with 9 nights of pujas and yagyas.

At the beginning of the spring Navaratri (Vasant Navaratri) we performed 4 days of Lakshmi and Ganesha yagyas. Two of those days took place in local Kanchipuram temples.



The temples tend to be very crowded at this time of year, so our abishekams are performed in the evening.

Here we see the Lakshmi temple as we are ready to begin. Note the fresh malas on the left ready for the final decorations.



In most temples there is a dark granite deity as seen in the rear of this photo. It is never moved from the temple. In the front of the photo you see an uttsava (festival) form of the deity which can be taken out of the temple for various pujas and festivals. The uttsava deity is usually made of brass.

The abishekam form of yagya involves the pouring of liquid items over the deity; water, milk, sandalwood paste, etc. Here you see the abishekam begin with milk being offered.






The sandalpaste is scented and the smell is absolutely amazing!



At the end, Lakshmi is dressed in a new silk sari and fresh flower malas. They look very festive! It is also worth noting that we make a point of performing our temple yagyas in smaller, less wealthy temples, so it is a special occasion when the deities are dressed so beautifully. The elaborate abishekams that we perform don't happen often in the smaller temples because of the cost, so it is an inspiration and a treat for those in the local community who visit the temple.