A murti (Sanskrit for "form" or "embodiment") is a sacred image of a Hindu god used as a focus for worship. Murtis can be small enough for a home shrine or huge inside a mandir. They are made according to strict iconographic rules so that each god is shown with their proper colours, hand positions, weapons and animals.

How a Murti Becomes Sacred

A newly carved murti is just stone or wood. Before it can be worshipped a priest performs a ritual called pranapratishtha ("establishing the life-breath"), which Hindus believe brings the god's presence into the murti.

Image or Idol?

Some critics of Hinduism call murti worship idolatry. Hindus reply that:

They are not worshipping the stone or metal itself.
The murti is a window through which to focus on Brahman.
Without a form to focus on, Brahman is too infinite for the human mind to grasp.
The same idea is found in symbols used by other religions, such as the cross in Christianity.

For Hindus, the murti is not an idol but a doorway to the divine.

Y8 Hinduism

The Murti - Image or Idol?