Four
hallowed shrines located at cardinal points of the Indian sub-continent
i.e. Puri,Rameswar,Dwarika and Badrinath are believed to have been
liked by Lord Vishnu intimately. It is said and believed that He takes
His bath at Rameswaram, meditates at Badrinath,dines at Puri and retires
at Dwarika.It is
therefore,a lot of importance is given to the temple food Mahaprasad
(not simply prasad) here at Puri. According to Skanda Purana Lord
Jagannath redeems the devotees by permitting them to partake his
Mahaprasad,to have His darshan and to worship him by observing rituals
and by offering of gifts .Mahaprasad is treated here as 'Anna Brahma'.
According to Skanda Purana Lord Jagannath
redeems the devotees by permitting them to partake his Mahaprasad,to
have His darshan and to worship him by observing rituals and by offering
of gifts .Mahaprasad is treated here as 'Anna Brahma'. The temple
kitchen has got the capacity to cook for a lakh of devotees on a day.
Mahaprasad is cooked only in earthen pots and medium of food is fire
wood only. The steam-cooked food is offered to Lord Jagannath first and
then to Goddess Bimala after which it becomes Mahaprasad. This
Mahaprasad is freely partaken by people of all castes and creeds without
any discrimination. The items offered include cooked rice, dal,
vegetable curry, sweet-dishes, cakes etc. Dry confectionaries are
prepared of sugar, gur, wheat flour, ghee, milk and cheese etc.
When the steam cooked food is carried to Lord in
slings of earthen pots no mes up from the food but when the same is
carried back to the sale point after being offered to the Lord a
delicious smell spells along in the breeze to the pleasant surprise of
the devotees. Now the food is blessed. Mahaprasad consolidates human
bond, sanctifies sacraments and grooms the departing soul for its
journey upwards.
Mahaprasad are sold in Anand Bazar or the
Pleasure Mart of the temple which is situated on the north east corner
of the outer enclosure of the temple. It is the biggest open-air hotel
in the world where every day thousands of devotees purchase and eat
together forgetting their caste, creed and status.
Most of the residents in and around Puri depend
upon this Mahaprasad to entertain their guests during social functions
such as threading and weddings. The tourists prefer to carry a
particular type of dry Mahaprasad known as Khaja (made of maida, sugar
and ghee which stays fresh for days together. Dried rice Mahaprasad
known as "Nirmalya" is also used by devotees and tourists for different
sacred occasions.
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