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Prasada (,
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
: प्रसाद, ), Prasadam or Prasad is a religious offering in
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
. Most often ''Prasada'' is vegetarian food especially cooked for devotees after praise and thanksgiving to the Lord. Mahaprasada (also called Bhandarā),
[Pashaura Singh, Louis E. Fenech, 2014]
The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies
/ref> is the consecrated food offered to the deity in a Hindu temple
A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hind ...
which is then distributed and partaken by all the devotees regardless of any orientation.[Chitrita Banerji, 2010]
Eating India: Exploring the Food and Culture of the Land of Spices
[Subhakanta Behera, 2002]
Construction of an identity discourse: Oriya literature and the Jagannath lovers (1866-1936)
p140-177.[Susan Pattinson, 2011]
The Final Journey: Complete Hospice Care for the Departing Vaishnavas
pp.220.
''Prasada'' is closely linked to the term Naivedya ( sa, नैवेद्य), also spelt Naivedhya, naibedya or Naived(h)yam. The food offered to God is called ''Naivedya'', while the sacred food sanctified and returned by God as a blessing is called ''Prasada''.
Etymology
''Prasāda'' is derived from the verb ''prasād'' which consists of the verb सद् (''sad'' - to sit, dwell) which is prefixed with प्र (''pra'' - before, afore, in front) and used as finite verb प्रसीदति (''prasīdati'' - dwells, presides, pleases or favours etc.). It denotes anything, typically food, that is first offered to a deity
A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...
or saint and then distributed in His or Her name to their followers or others as a good sign.[Natu, Bal, ''Glimpses of the God-Man, Meher Baba'', Sheriar Press, 1987]
'Prasāda' is sometimes translated as gift or grace
Grace may refer to:
Places United States
* Grace, Idaho, a city
* Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois
* Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office
* Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninco ...
.
Practices
The ''prasada'' is to be consumed by attendees as a holy offering. The offerings may include cooked food, fruits
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particula ...
and confectionery sweets. Vegetarian food is usually offered and later distributed to the devotees who are present in the temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
. Sometimes this vegetarian offering will exclude prohibited items such as garlic, onion, mushroom, etc.
Non-vegetarian is prohibited in some of the temples. Hindu goddesses like Chandi
Chandi ( sa, चण्डी, ) or Chandika () is a Hindu deity. Chandika is another form of Mahadevi, similar to Durga. Chandika is a powerful form of Mahadevi who manifested to destroy evil. She is also known as ''Kaushiki'', '' Katyayan ...
, Kali
Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hinduism, Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In t ...
and Hindu gods like Bhairava
Bhairava (Sanskrit: भैरव ) or Kala Bhairava is a Shaivite and Vajrayāna deity worshiped by Hindus and Buddhists. In Shaivism, he is a powerful manifestation, or avatar, of Shiva associated with annihilation. In Trika system ''Bhairava ...
, Mahakala
Mahākāla is a deity common to Hinduism and Tantric Buddhism. In Buddhism, Mahākāla is regarded as the sacred '' Dharmapāla'' ("Protector of the Dharma"), while in Hinduism, Mahākāla is a fierce manifestation of the Hindu god Shiva and th ...
are given meat offerings of animals like rooster
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...
s, goats
The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of Caprinae, goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a membe ...
, fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
, buffalo which are slaughtered in the temple precincts.
Offering of food items forms part of the ''upachara In Hinduism, ''upachara'' (Sanskrit: उपचार; service or courtesy) refers to the offerings and services made to a deity as part of worship. List
Krishnananda Agamavagisha states in the Brihat Tantrasara that the main worship is conducted wi ...
'' or services to a Hindu deity in many Hindu traditions but is not universal. The ''murti
In the Hindu tradition, a ''murti'' ( sa, मूर्ति, mūrti, ) is a devotional image such as a statue, or "idol" (a common and non-pejorative term in Indian English), of a deity or saint. In Hindu temples, it is a symbolic icon. Thus ...
'' (icon) is revered as a living entity who is offered food, fruits, and betelnut among others.
Temples usually have stricter worship routines that include offering naivedya multiple times a day. Most temples allow only trained pujaris to cook the ''naivedya''. The ''naivedya'' offered directly to the deity is considered as ''prasada'', the deity having "enjoyed" it. This can be considered to be a symbolic rather than a literal offering.
Offerings of food in home shrines are relatively simpler than the Hindu temples. A common practice is to mix the ''prasada'' back into the remaining food before partaking it.
Tasting during preparation or eating the ''naivedya'' food before offering it to God is strictly forbidden. The food is first placed before a deity and specific prayers are offered with accompanying rituals. Afterwards, the food is considered as having been blessed by God, and has officially become the sanctified ''prasada''.
In its material sense, ''prasada'' is created by a process of giving and receiving between a human devotee and the god. For example, a devotee makes an offering of a material substance such as flowers, fruits, or sweets
Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies (Australian English, New Zealand English), is a confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, called '' sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, i ...
. The deity then 'enjoys' or tastes a bit of the offering. This now-divinely invested substance is called ''prasada'' and is received by the devotee to be ingested, worn, etc. It may be the same material that was originally offered or material offered by others and then re-distributed to other devotees. In many temples, several kinds of ''prasada'' (e.g., nuts, sweets) are distributed to the devotees.
Offering food and subsequently receiving ''prasada'' is central to the practice of '' puja.'' Any food that is offered either physically to the image of God or silently in prayer is considered ''prasada''.
In Sikhism, karah parshad
In Sikhism, Prashad (Punjabi: ਕੜਾਹ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦ ) is a type of whole wheat flour halva made with equal portions of whole-wheat flour, clarified butter, and sugar and double quantity of water. It is offered to all visitors to the Da ...
is served to the congregation after prayer and reading of scripture. Parshad represents the same values as langar Langar may refer to:
Community eating
*Langar (Sikhism)
* Langar (Sufism)
Places
Afghanistan
*Langar, Badakhshan, Afghanistan
* Langar, Bamyan, Afghanistan
* Langar, Faryab, Afghanistan
* Langar, Herat, Afghanistan
* Langar, Wardak, Afghanis ...
in that it is served indiscriminately.
Kurukshetra Prasadam (Channa laddu) in 48 kos parikrama of Kurukshetra
The 48 kos parikrama is a parikrama (a circumbabulatory pilgrimage) of various ''Mahabharata''-related and other Vedic-era tirthas (Hindu sacred sites) around the holy city of Kurukshetra in the state of Haryana, India.
Associated with Kri ...
, Tirupati Laddu
Tirupati Laddu or SriVari Laddu is the laddu sweet offered as Naivedhyam to Venkateswara at Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati, Tirupati district, Andhra Pradesh, India. The laddu is given as prasadam to devotees after having the darshan i ...
and Mathura peda
Mathura peda is a North Indian sweet dish that originated from Mathura in India. In North India sweets prepared from mawa (khoya) are very popular and the peda is also a mawa sweet variety. Mathura peda is so famous in North India that the term ...
in the Braj Parikrama are geo-specialty prasada.[Chana laddoo to be ‘Kurukshetra prasadam’, The Tribune, 1 March 2020.]
/ref>
See also
* Bhog
''Bhog'' (n. 'pleasure' or 'delight', v. 'to end' or 'to conclude') is a term used in Hinduism and Sikhism. In Sikhism, it is used for observances that are fulfilled along with the reading of the concluding part of the Guru Granth Sahib. It can b ...
* Kripa
Kripa ( sa, कृप, Kṛpa, pity), also known as Kripacharya ( sa, कृपाचार्य, Kṛpācārya, Kripa the master), is a figure in Hindu mythology. According to the epic ''Mahabharata'', he was a council member of Kuru Kingdo ...
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prasada
Objects used in Hindu worship
Puja (Hinduism)
Sanskrit words and phrases
Sikh practices
Religious food and drink
Food and drink in Hinduism