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Illustration for prana-pratishtha Sanskrit

prana-pratishtha

Glossary · Sanskrit

प्राणप्रतिष्ठा

The establishing of the life-breath.

Tagged: Hindu

Technical Meaning

The consecration rite by which a Hindu deity's presence is installed in a new murti, most solemnly at the founding of a temple. Through mantra and the ritual opening of the image's eyes, the deity is invoked to take up residence in the form; from that point the image is worshipped as the deity itself. The consecration of the Ram temple at Ayodhya in January 2024 carried the rite before a worldwide audience.

More Sanskrit Terms

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Religious Art & Images

A stone Shiva linga on its round yoni base inside a small temple shrine, scattered with flower petals and pigment, a drip vessel hanging above. Art Entry The Shiva Linga A polished stone shaft rising from its base, bathed daily in water, milk, and flowers: the aniconic murti of Shiva, worshipped not as a symbol of an absent god but as the god's own form.

The whole glossary