During the morning, our priests in Kanchipuram finished the 11 day Maharudra series with a large homam (fire yagya). Here you see them chanting the last mantras from the Yajur Veda (called Chamakam) while ghee is poured into the fire in an unbroken stream using the long woodent implement called a vasodhara.
Later that evening, they travelled to a small village outside Kanchipuram where we have been responsible for the Rudra Abishekam, all the ingredients, and for feeding those who attend (annadanum; gift of food). Each year the event has become more widely known and this year there were over 500 attendees, including several government officials, and a representative from the Shankaracharya’s Mutt (ashram) in Kanchipuram.
As you can see, the lingam in this temple is quite large.
At the same time, in the Varanasi area, a similar yagya is being performed in a Shiva temple. The temple, shown above, sits under a very old pipal tree, rumored to be 500 years old!
Inside the temple, the lingam has been decorated with flowers and here you see milk being offered as a part of the abishekam ritual. In all 11 ingredients are used; water, milk, yogurt curd, ghee, sandalpaste, fruit, turmeric, rosewater, sesame oil, vibhuti (sacred ash), and honey.