From the archive record
Priests performing rituals for Prana pratishta ceremony of Sai Baba's idol at Saisthanam Temple in Nakronda, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. Prana pratistha is the Hindu theological term for a rite or ceremony by which a deity is infused or brought to inhabit a murti or icon of that deity. According to Gavin Flood, "A ritual of consecration in which the consciousness or power of the deity is brought into the image awakens the icon in a temple." According to orthodox Hinduism it is only after this rite is properly performed that worship should be offered to the murti. The Sanskrit word pratiṣṭhā, which in general usage means "resting" or "position", used in connection with a murti is translated by Apte as "the consecration of an idol or image". The corresponding adjective pratiṣṭha means "ins