prasada
{{Short description|Religious food offered in Hinduism and Sikhism temples}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Redirect-several|Prasad}}
{{Multiple issues|{{original research|date=March 2023}}
{{more citations needed|date=March 2023}}}}
image:Prasadam2.jpg in Sri Maya Chandrodaya Mandir in Mayapur, India]]
Prasāda ({{IPA|sa|pɽɐsaːdɐ}}, Sanskrit: प्रसाद), prasad or prasadam is a religious offering in Hinduism. Most often Prasada is vegetarian food especially cooked for devotees after praise and thanksgiving to a god. Mahaprasada (also called bhandarā),Pashaura Singh, Louis E. Fenech, 2014, [https://books.google.com/books?id=CzYeAwAAQBAJ&dq=mahaprasad+similar+to+langar&pg=PT530 The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies] is the consecrated food offered to the deity in a Hindu temple which is then distributed and partaken by all the devotees regardless of any orientation.Chitrita Banerji, 2010, [https://books.google.com/books?id=c9lJnCpfEDoC&dq=mahaprasad+similar+to+langar&pg=PT65 Eating India: Exploring the Food and Culture of the Land of Spices].Subhakanta Behera, 2002, [https://books.google.com/books?id=hbVjAAAAMAAJ&q=mahaprasad Construction of an identity discourse: Oriya literature and the Jagannath lovers (1866–1936)], pp. 140–177.Susan Pattinson, 2011, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Nma9UJgFXpcC&dq=mahaprasad&pg=PA220 The Final Journey: Complete Hospice Care for the Departing Vaishnavas], pp. 220.
Prasada is closely linked to the term naivedya, also spelt naivedhya, naibedya or naived(h)yam. The food offered to the deity is called naivedya, while the sacred food sanctified and returned by the deity as a blessing is called prasada.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}
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.).{{Cite book|last=Apte|first=Vaman Shivaram|title=The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary.|publisher=Rinsen Book Company|year=1992|isbn=4653000387|location=Kyoto, Japan}} It denotes anything, typically food, that is first offered to a deity 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/chapter/2/verse/64|title=Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 2, Verse 64|author=Mukundananda, Swami|access-date=2021-04-11}}
Practices
{{more citations needed section|date = March 2023}}
File:Bharatiya Temple Mahaprasadam.jpg in Powell, Ohio, US]]
The prasada is to be consumed by attendees as a holy offering. The offerings may include cooked food, fruits and confectionery sweets. Vegetarian food is usually offered and later distributed to the devotees who are present in the temple. Sometimes this vegetarian offering will exclude prohibited items such as garlic, onion, mushroom, etc.
File:Lakshmi Puja prasad 03.jpg in West Bengal, India]]
Non-vegetarian is prohibited in some of the temples. Offering of food items forms part of the upachara or services to a Hindu deity in many Hindu traditions but is not universal. The murti (icon) is revered as a living entity who is offered food, fruits, and betelnut among others.
File:Pongal Pooja Chennai 14th Jan 2014.jpg, India]]
This can be considered to be a symbolic rather than a literal offering.
Tasting during preparation or eating the naivedya food before offering it to the god is strictly forbidden.
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. The deity then 'enjoys' or tastes a bit of the offering.{{Cite book|last=Hawley|first=John|title=The Life of Hinduism|publisher=University of California Press|year=2006|isbn=9780520249141|location=Berkeley and Los Angeles|pages=13}} 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. {{citation needed|date=May 2021}}
Offering food and subsequently receiving prasada is central to the practice of puja. Any food that is offered either physically to the image of the god or silently in prayer is considered prasada.{{Cite web|title=Prasada {{!}} Hinduism|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/prasada|access-date=2021-05-12|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}
In Sikhism, karah parshad is served to the congregation after prayer and reading of scripture.{{Cite book|last1=Bhatia|first1=Harbans Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kA0RAQAAIAAJ|title=Religious Traditions of the Sikhs|last2=Bakshi|first2=Shiri Ram|date=1999|publisher=Deep & Deep Publications|isbn=978-81-7629-132-3|language=en}} Parshad represents the same values as langar in that it is served indiscriminately.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}
Kurukshetra Prasadam (Channa laddu) in 48 kos parikrama of Kurukshetra, Tirupati Laddu and Mathura peda in the Braj Parikrama are geo-specialty prasada.[https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/haryana/chana-laddoo-to-be-kurukshetra-prasadam-49618 Chana laddoo to be ‘Kurukshetra prasadam’, The Tribune, 1 March 2020.]
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category}}
{{Worship in Hinduism}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prasada}}
Category:Objects used in Hindu worship
Category:Sanskrit words and phrases
Category:Religious food and drink