-
Recent Posts
Categories
Links
PujaNet Blog Archive
-
Spring Navaratri – Day 2
Day two of the Navaratri program and all the ghee lamps are ready to go. In Pune, where the Navaratri program is being performed, the traditions are a little different from the south in Kanchipuram. You can see that the puja altar is quite elaborate. Saraswati, Durga, and Lakshmi Since it is springtime, there is […] -
Spring Navaratri – Day 1
The preparations are complete and the Navaratri program is about to start. Goddess pujas are always especially elaborate. All the items used in the pujas are purified with mantras and water, and then decorated with a flower. A Hanuman bell. Durga. Ganesha, who is invoked at the beginning of every ritual. The abishekam is purifying […] -
Shiva Yagya – Shivaratri Morning
Because of the generosity of all our sponsors, we were able to go all out on the decorations for the Shivaratri morning yagya celebrations. These are all fresh flowers, literally thousands of them. It took a team of five about 30 hours to compelete the construction and they were installed at 4 AM. The entire […] -
Shiva Yagya – Day 9
As we gather this morning, everyone is aware that this is our last regular day of the yagya series. Tomorrow is Shivaratri and the routine that we have all settled into will be over. It is always kind of sad when a yagya ends. There is something about the yagya atmosphere that is deeply contented […] -
Shiva Yagya – Evening Chanting
Every evening during the yagya program the priests have come to chant Rudram for two hours. Last night, Seetharam arranged for young brahmin priests-in-training to come and join us. Their voices were strong and their memorization of the lengthy Rudram was immaculate. The whole group repeated the Rudram mantra (about 6 pages of text) eleven […] -
Shiva Yagya – Day 8, our ghee lady
She walks every day quite a distance with that huge pot of ghee and another one of yogurt on her head. She’s only about 5 ft. tall, but strong as can be. Everything is carefully measured out. She’s always in a good mood and greets me each time she arrives. then she measures out ghee […] -
Shiva Yagya – Day 8, an unexpected visitor
As I was sitting watching the havan being performed, there was a big commotion outside. When the priests saw what it was, they were quite pleased. We’ve had cows visit, but never a bull so this was a unique occurance. Each of the gods has an animal that they ride on, called a vahana. For […] -
Shiva Yagya, Day 8, last offering
The last offering of ghee at the end of a yagya is called poornadhuti. It is a moment of some drama as the fire leaps up because of all the ghee. . . . . The flames are pretty impressive, not to mention hot on days that are usually in the high 80’s. . . […] -
Shiva Yagya – Day 8
It say in the Bhagavad Gita that the fruit of yagya is rain. It has rained intermittently throughout the yagyas this past week. Today it is starting to look like a real storm is on the way. The chanting continues every morning starting at 7 AM. . The priests continue to find new slokas to […] -
Shiva Yagya – Fire Photos
The yagya fire is central to the performance of the yagya rituals. It can be very dramatic as it was today. . . . . . . . . .