("initiating the prana") Pranapratishtha is the last ceremony in the consecration of a deity's image, which is normally conducted by brahmins due to their ceremonial purity and training.
Through ceremony and the invocation of holy sounds known as
mantras, the picture is imbued with the breath of life (prana).
After this procedure, the god is said to live in the
picture, which must thereafter be treated with the respect that such a
spiritual being deserves.
