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Loving Devotion: Visions of Vishnu

Temple Vessel with Hindu Deities

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Thumbnailurn-300x168.jpeg

Temple Vessel with Hindu Deities
India, 18th – 19th century
Bronze with copper
Brigham Young University Museum of Art, gift of Lorraine Allen, 943300000

This metal vessel was likely used in puja, or worship, at a temple. During various rituals of bhakti, worshippers bestow offerings (upacaras) of food, flowers or honorific gestures deemed worthy of the deity – such as fanning with a peacock feather. This type of vessel could also hold auspicious liquids like milk or sacred water from the Ganges River, used by the priests in officiating temple rituals. Such offerings create an opportunity for worshippers to commune with the divine through tangible, meaningful acts of service and attentiveness—a form of reciprocal giving that characterizes the bhakti relationship between the divine and human.

Defining Puja—BYU Museum of Art "Loving Devotion"
Temple Worship—BYU Museum of Art "Loving Devotion"

All photographs and videos have been provided by Entrepid Productions with support from Andrew Hair, Daniel King, and Garth Pratt.