Five deities
April 23, 2007
Some traditions that date back to the saint Adi Shankara focus on the worship of five deities; the Sun, Moon, Ganesha, Vishnu, Shiva, and the Goddess. In the following photo taken at the conclusion of an abishekam, you see a crystal Shiva lingam in the center, and a crystal Ganesha in the upper left. The clear gem in the lower left is for the Moon and the black stone (called a shaligram) is for Vishnu. The goddess in the rear on the right is Annapurna and she is seen holding a spoon as is traditional for her because she is the goddess who feeds the world. The second photo gives you a sense of scale. Not all murtis have to be big!
