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{{short description|Religious food offered in Hinduism and Sikhism temples}}
{{Redirect-several|Prasad}}
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{{original research|date=March 2023}}
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[[image:Prasadam2.jpg|right|thumb|200px|''Naivedya'' offered to [[Radha Krishna]] in [[Sri Maya Chandrodaya Mandir, Mayapur|Sri Maya Chandrodaya Mandir]] in [[Mayapur]], India]]

'''Prasāda''' ({{IPA-sa|pɽɐsaːdɐ}}, [[Sanskrit]]: प्रसाद), '''prasadam''' or '''prasad''' 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),<ref name=maha5>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]</ref> 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.<ref name=maha3>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].</ref><ref name=maha1>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.</ref><ref name=maha2>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.</ref>

''Prasada'' is closely linked to the term '''''naivedya''''', 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.{{cn|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.).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Apte|first=Vaman Shivaram|title=The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary.|publisher=Rinsen Book Company|year=1992|isbn=4653000387|location=Kyoto, Japan}}</ref> It denotes anything, typically food, that is first offered to a [[Hinduism#Concept of God|deity]] or saint and then distributed in His or Her name to their followers or others as a good sign.<ref name=baba1>Natu, Bal, ''Glimpses of the God-Man, Meher Baba'', Sheriar Press, 1987</ref>

'Prasāda' is sometimes translated as gift or [[divine|grace]].<ref>{{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}}</ref>

==Practices==
{{more citations needed section|date = March 2023}}
[[File:Bharatiya Temple Mahaprasadam.jpg|200px|thumb|left|''Prasada'' served at the [[Bharatiya Hindu Temple]] in [[Powell, Ohio|Powell]], [[Ohio]], USA]]
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 [[Hindu temple|temple]]. Sometimes this vegetarian offering will exclude prohibited items such as garlic, onion, mushroom, etc.<ref name="maha3" />
[[File:Lakshmi Puja prasad 03.jpg|200px|thumb|right|''Naivedya'' offered in a home ''[[Puja (Hinduism)|puja]]'' in [[West Bengal]], India]]
Non-vegetarian is prohibited in some of the temples. Hindu goddesses like [[Chamunda|Chandi]], [[Kali]] and Hindu gods like [[Bhairava]], [[Mahakala]] are given meat offerings of animals like [[rooster]]s, [[Domestic goat|goats]], [[fish]], [[water buffalo|buffalo]] which are slaughtered in the temple precincts.

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|thumb|left|Offering of fresh produce before cooking in [[Tamil Nadu]], India]]

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 [[Indian sweets|sweets]]. The deity then 'enjoys' or tastes a bit of the offering.<ref name=":0">{{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}}</ref> 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 (Hinduism)|puja]].''<ref name=":0" /> Any food that is offered either physically to the image of God or silently in prayer is considered ''prasada''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Prasada {{!}} Hinduism|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/prasada|access-date=2021-05-12|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref>

In Sikhism, [[Karah Parshad|karah parshad]] is served to the congregation after prayer and reading of scripture.<ref>{{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}}</ref> Parshad represents the same values as [[Langar (Sikhism)|langar]] in that it is served indiscriminately.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}

[[Jyotisar#prasad|Kurukshetra Prasadam]] (Channa laddu) in [[48 kos parikrama of Kurukshetra]], [[Tirupati Laddu]] and [[Mathura peda]] in the [[Vraja Parikrama|Braj Parikrama]] are [[specialty food|geo-specialty]] prasada.<ref name=tir14>[https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/haryana/chana-laddoo-to-be-kurukshetra-prasadam-49618 Chana laddoo to be ‘Kurukshetra prasadam’, The Tribune, 1 March 2020.]</ref>

==See also==
* [[Bhog#In Hinduism|Bhog]]
* [[Kripa (philosophy)|Kripa]]
* [[Panchagavya]]
* [[Panchamrita]]
* [[Prana pratishta]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==

{{Worship in Hinduism}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prasada}}
[[Category:Objects used in Hindu worship]]
[[Category:Puja (Hinduism)]]
[[Category:Sanskrit words and phrases]]
[[Category:Sikh practices]]
[[Category:Religious food and drink]]
[[Category:Food and drink in Hinduism]]

Prasada - Revision history

Ajay Kumar: Created a new article