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In Hinduism
Hinduism

'Hinduism' is the predominant religion of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as , a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal dharma", by its practitioners....
, a murti (Devanagari
Devanagari

, or 'Nagari', is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal. It is written from left to right, lacks distinct letter cases, and is recognizable by a distinctive horizontal line running along the tops of the letters that links them together....
: ??????) typically refers to an image, a deity, in which a Divine Spirit is expressed (murta). Hindus consider a murti worthy of worship after the divine is invoked in it for the purpose of offering worship. Thus the murti is regarded by Hindus and also by some Mahayana
Mahayana

Mahayana is one of the two main existing schools of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophy and practice. It was History of Buddhism in India....
 Buddhists (e.g.






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Dagdushethganpati2005
In Hinduism
Hinduism

'Hinduism' is the predominant religion of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as , a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal dharma", by its practitioners....
, a murti (Devanagari
Devanagari

, or 'Nagari', is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal. It is written from left to right, lacks distinct letter cases, and is recognizable by a distinctive horizontal line running along the tops of the letters that links them together....
: ??????) typically refers to an image, a deity, in which a Divine Spirit is expressed (murta). Hindus consider a murti worthy of worship after the divine is invoked in it for the purpose of offering worship. Thus the murti is regarded by Hindus and also by some Mahayana
Mahayana

Mahayana is one of the two main existing schools of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophy and practice. It was History of Buddhism in India....
 Buddhists (e.g. Muktinath
Muktinath

Muktinath, a sacred place both for Hindus as well as Buddhists, is located at an altitude of 3,710 meters at the foot of the Thorong La mountain pass , Mustang , Nepal....
) during worship as a point of devotional and meditational focus. Puja
Puja

Puja is the religion ritual that Hindus perform on a variety of occasions to pray or show respect to God, Gods, and guru. The purpose of puja is to communicate with God and the Gods or the satguru, to keep a thread to continuity, of relationship, between this physical world and the subtle inner worlds....
 of murtis is recommended especially for Dvapara Yuga
Dvapara Yuga

Dvapara Yuga or Dwapara Yuga is the third out of four yugas, or ages, described in the scriptures of Hinduism. This yuga comes after Treta Yuga and is followed by Kali Yuga....
 and described in Pańcaratra
Pańcaratra

Pa?caratra are Vaishnavite devotional texts dedicated to a single deity Sriman Narayana who manifests in different forms. God exists in his absolute form , his Vyuha froms, his Avatar and his existence in holy images....
 texts.

Role of murtis in worship

Murtis are sometimes abstract, but are almost always representations of gods in anthropomorphic or zoomorphic forms like Shiva
Shiva

Shiva: is a major Hinduism god, and one aspect of Trimurti. In the Shaiva tradition of Hinduism, Shiva is seen as the supreme God. In the Smarta tradition, he is one of panchadeva....
, Ganesha
Ganesha

Ganesha , also spelled Ganesa or Ganesh and also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most widely worshipped Hindu deities in the Hinduism Pantheon ....
, Rama
RAMA

Rama is a first-person adventure game developed and published by Sierra Entertainment in 1996. The game is based on Arthur C. Clarke's books Rendezvous with Rama and Rama II and supports both DOS and Microsoft Windows 95....
, Kali
KALI

KALI may refer to:* KALI , a radio station licensed to West Covina, California, United States* KALI-FM, a radio station licensed to Santa Ana, California, United States...
, etc. Murtis are made according to the prescriptions of the Silpa Sastras
Shilpa shastras

Shilpa Shastras are traditional Hindu texts that describe the standards for religious Hindu iconography, prescribing e.g. the proportions of a sculptured figure, as well as rules of Hindu architecture....
. The alloy Panchaloga
Panchaloga

Panchaloha is a term for traditional five-metal alloys of sacred significance used for making Hinduism temple icons . Making Panchaloha images were a well kept secret for a long time and their color changing properties added to their mysticism....
 is sometimes used. They are installed by priests through the Prana pratishta
Prana pratishta

Prana pratistha is the Hindu theology term for a rite or ceremony by which a deity is infusion or brought to inhabit a murti or icon of that deity....
 ('establishing the life') ceremony.

Devotional (Bhakti
Bhakti

Bhakti is a word of Sanskrit origin meaning devotion. Within Vaishnavism bhakti is only used in conjunction with Vishnu, Krishna or of the associated avatar, who are the source of attractiveness....
) practices centered on cultivating a deep and personal bond of love with a god often include veneration of murtis. Some Hindu denominations like Arya Samaj
Arya Samaj

Arya Samaj is a Hindu reform movement founded in India by Swami Dayananda in 1875. He was a sannyasa who believed in the infallible Moral absolutism of the Vedas....
 and Satya Mahima Dharma
Satya Mahima Dharma

Satya Mahima Dharma is a religious tradition in Hinduism, from Orissa. It goes back to a historic person called Mahima Svama . He is said to have appeared in Puri in 1826....
, however, reject it, equating it with an idol worship
Idolatry

Idolatry is usually defined as worship of any cult image, idea, or Object , as opposed to the worship of a monotheistic God. It is considered a major sin in the Abrahamic religions whereas in religions where such activity is not considered as sin, the term "idolatry" itself is absent....
.

According to Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami
Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami

Sivaya Subramuniyaswami , affectionately known as Gurudeva by his followers, was born in Oakland, California on January 5 1927 and adopted Saivism as a young man....
, “This is similar to our ability to communicate with others through the telephone
Telephone

The telephone is a telecommunications device that is used to transmitter and receive electronically or digitally encoded sound between two or more people conversing....
. One does not talk to the telephone; rather the telephone is a way to interact with another person. Without the telephone, one could not have a conversation across long distances; and without the sanctified image in the temple, one cannot easily talk with the Deity.”

Materials used in Murtis

In South India, the material used predominantly for murtis is black granite
Granite

Granite is a common and widely occurring type of Intrusion , felsic, igneous rock rock . Granite has a medium to coarse texture, occasionally with some individual crystals larger than the groundmass forming a rock known as Porphyry ....
, while material in North India is white marble
Marble

Marble is a nonfoliated metamorphic rock resulting from the metamorphism of limestone, composed mostly of calcite . It is extensively used for Marble sculpture, as a architecture material, and in many other applications....
.

See also

  • Icon
    Icon

    An 'icon' is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity. More broadly the term is used in a wide number of contexts for an image, picture, or representation; it is a sign or likeness that stands for an object by signifying or representing it either concretely or by analogy, as in semiotics; by extension, ...
  • Ishta-Deva
    Ishta-deva

    Within Hinduism, an Ishta-deva or Ishta devata is a term denoting a worshipper's favourite deity.It is especially significant to both the Smarta and Bhakti schools wherein practitioners choose to worship the form of God which inspires them the most....


External links

  • (ISKCON, Gaudiya Vaishnava sampradaya)