Performing Shaligram Puja on the day of Prabodhini Ekadesi

Performing Shaligram Puja on the day of Prabodhini Ekadesi (Kartik Shukla 11)

by Unknown Artist
Nathdwara
circa 1900

Opaque watercolour and gold on paper
12.75 x 9.25 in. (32.4 x 23.5 cm.)

Prabodhini Ekadashi, the eleventh day of the month of Kartika is commemorated as the day of the awakening of Lord Vishnu after four months of slumber. In the Doltibari, the shaligram is placed on a sangamachi under a mandap made with sugarcane. The shaligram puja celebrates the marriage of Lord Vishnu with Tulsi, the sacred basil plant. The shaligram is being bathed by Tilkayat Govardhanlalji with panchamrita, a mixture comprising of ghee, honey, sugar, milk and curd as another Goswami holds a lamp, as a priest blows a conch while another rings a bell.