Lakshmi Temple Yagya - Kanchipuram - January, 2006

Our first temple yagya of the year took place at a Vishnu temple in the Kanchipuram. We have not held a temple yagya here before, and it is typical of many of the smaller temples in South India. Note the unpaved street and the red stripes on the wall which identify the area as a temple.



The main entrance is decorated with a strand of mango leaves and a nice statue of Vishnu.



Inside the temple you can see the entrance to the sanctum with the Vishnu murti in the center. You can see on either side of the door Vishnu's guardians (Jaya and Vijaya) dressed in orange and white dhotis. There are some great stories about them in the Ramayana.



Vishnu is always found with two goddesses; Lakshmi on the left and Bhoomi Devi on the right. As is typical, they are all wearing their raksha; silver armor made with wonderful traditional handmade craftsmanship.



As you can see the murtis are quite large; about 5 feet high. Here they have been prepared for the abishekam by being coated in sesame oil and washed with water.



Then large quanties of milk are poured over the murtis, followed by other items such as yogurt, coconut juice, turmeric, etc. After each ingredient is finished, the priests perform a brief puja with offerings of fruit, and camphor light.



The abishekam ends with scented sandalwood.



The murtis are then dressed in new silk saris (from our group) and new flower malas. This photo is of the Lakshmi. The stone murti is in the rear, and the brass "festival" murti is in front.



The large scale murtis are fully dressed as are the festival murtis, as seen in the following images.





Afterwards the temple looked beautiful!

New Year's Day Yagya - Bangalore - Jan 2006

On New Year's Day Seetharam visited a very old temple for Ganesha, Agni, and Shiva in Bangalore. It is well over 1,000 years old and was originally in a cave. Over the years the temple buildings have been constructed around it.





The courtyard of the temple is unique in that it contains very a very large trisul (Shiva's trident) and a disc that symbolizes the sun as seen below.



In the below photo you can see the entrance to the temple.



This year, Seetharam was not allowed to take photos inside the temple. But, from last year's event the following photos will give you an idea of the interior. You see the rough hewn granite pillars supporting the roof and a doorway straight ahead. In the inner room is the Shiva lingam.



This is one of only a few murtis for Agni in all of India. Note the cave ceiling.



It was a great way to start the New Year. Thanks to all who participated.

Sudarshana/Narasimha Temple Yagya - Kanchipuram - Dec 2005

This month, our temple yagya took place in a lovely small Vishnu temple; another of the small traditional temples in the area around Kanchipuram. Here, a few of our priests are standing in front of the temple walls.



The temple itself features many fine carvings around the various temple buildings.



The temple honors Narasimha; the fiercest form of Vishnu who is particularly protective of families. Here he is shown represented as having the body of a man, and the head of a lion. Sitting on his lap is Lakshmi who comes to calm him after he destroys the demon king Hiryankashipu.



The temple deity is shown here and you may be able to make out his eyes, mane, round cheeks, and hands in this photo.



Narasimha is always honored with Sudarshana; Vishnu's weapon in the form of a flaming discuss. In this photo you see Sudarshan personified with a face and body surrounded by many arms and a large circle of flames.



The abishekam yagya begins with pouring milk over the deity.



After a series of ingredients; oil, yogurt, honey, milk, turmeric, etc. The murti is bathed in cooling scented sandalwood.



Finally, the deity is dried and dressed in a new dhoti and beautiful flower malas.



The final puja includes the offering of camphor flame and chanting of vedic hymns.



To conclude the day, fresh decorations and flower malas are provided in the main temple where here we see the more usual form of Vishnu with Lakshmi on his right, and Bhoomi Devi on his left.

Dhoti and Meal Project - December 2005

Every year we provide a special meal and a new high quality cotton dhoti to young vedic pundits-in-training in the area around Kanchipuram. This year, thanks to the generosity of the yagya gorup participants, we were able to provide over 150 dhotis to the future pundits! In addition we arrange for a specially cooked meal to be served.



Our program began with a large patasala, and continued with a smaller facility, both in the Kanchipuram area.



Of course, we can't forget girls! Each young girl received a new dress, some bangles, a necklace, and flowers. As you can see, they were quite delighted with the occasion.

Lakshmi Temple Yagya - Kanchipuram - Nov 2005

Our monthly temple yagya took place at one of the many smaller temples in the area around Kanchipuram. This month our priests selected a small Vishnu temple that dates back almost 900 years; about the time of the Middle Ages and Crusades in Europe, and Ghengis Kahn in Asia!



The temple as you can in the photo above is relatively small. This is the main building which houses the central deities of Vishnu, Lakshmi, and Bhoomi Devi (his 2 wives). It is impressive to note that these deities have been the object of continual mantras, pujas, and yagyas for almost 900 years!



In the photo above, Vishnu is in the middle with Lakshmi on his right and Bhoomi Devi, the goddess of the earth on his left. Together they support and protect creation. The murtis are made of a dark greeen granite that turns a dark black when sesame oil is applied as a part of the yagyas.



The Lakshmi temple is on the right side of the main temple. Here in the main courtyard, you can see the stambum (flagpole) carved from a single piece of granite. the Lakshmi temple is off to the side on the left of the photo.



Our priests did their usual fantastic job with the abishekam yagya and provided new silk saris and flower malas. Here you see the priest performing the offering of camphor light towards the end of the yagya.



The large murti in the back of this photo (red sari) is large and made of granite. She is not movable. The smaller murti (green sari) is called the utsava murti; or festival murti that can be moved adn taken out of the temple for different temple events.




The murti's right hand (palm outward and fingers pointed upwards) is offering the blessing of protection, and the left hand is granting wishes (fingers downward).



This is a new temple for us and now that we have established a successful event with the priests and management we have been invited to return in December to perform a yagya for Narasimha and Sudarshana.



Narasimha is the form of Vishnu that protects and supports families.



Sudarshana is Vishnu's weapon which provides strength and cuts through all obstacles. The yagyas will be performed on the day of the full Moon, December 15th.

Tulsi Vivaha Yagya - Kanchipuram - Nov 2005

Tulsi Vivaha celebrates the divine Tulsi plant; a favorite of Vishnu. For the complete story listen to the Tulsi Vivaha podcast or read the story in the show notes on puja.net. For the pujas in this celebration, they replace a traditional murti with the tulsi plant as representative of the simple devotion of Lakshmi.



A full puja is performed and then the traditional vedic marriage ceremony is performed (called Kalyana Utshavam).



By the end the puja areas is full of flowers!

Navaratri Temple Yagya - Oct. 2005

During the long Navaratri Yagya series we sponsored a full Abishekam for Durga at a local temple. Every morning our priests did a full set of pujas and a fire homam.



On Navaratri evening, they all went to a local Durga temple to perfrom the traditional Abishekam with the traditional offerings of fruits, herbs, and of course a new silk sari, for which Kanchipuram is famous.



An Abishekam is a ritual bathing and so it requires lots of milk (in the bags)and yards of beautiful fresh flower malas.

The abishekam begins with a lot of fresh water.



And milk...



Scented sandalpaste is very cooling and smells wonderful!



Vibhuti is purified and scented ash from yagyas and is associated with Shiva. Because Durga is considered to be a form of Parvati,(Shiva's wife), vibhuti is sprinkled over the murti.

After each offering is poured over the Durga, the priests perform a brief puja in whcih flowers, fruit, coconut, and light are offered to the murti. In this photo notice how they clear her face of the vibhuti and apply sandalpaste to her forehead and kumkum to her lips.



Finally, the murti is dried and dressed in a new silk sari and decorated with all the fresh flower malas. In this photo she is standing on a water buffalo which is one of the forms that the demon Mahishasura took in the story of Navaratri. If you look closely you can see how the horns have been outlined with sandalpaste below her feet.