THE MAHAPRASAD OF PURI LORD JAGANNATH

According to the Skanda Purana, Lord Jagannath redeems the devotees by permitting them to partake his Mahaprasad, to have his darshan and worship Him by rituals, and to offer 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 on hearths. 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 Abhada, kanika, Daali, Besara, saga, tarakari, rabidi and Malpua. Dry confectionaries are

prepared of sugar, jaggery, wheat flour, ghee, milk i.e Feni, gaja, khaja, atapeda etc. When the steam-cooked food is carried to Lord in slings of earthen pots no flavour comes 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. Mahaprasads are sold in Anand Bazar or the PleasureMart of the

temple which is situated on the northeastern corner of the outer enclosure of the temple.

People take mostly the following things:

1) Either Anna (Rice) or Kanika (a form of sweet rice, with extra Ghee)

2) Dal

3) Besara

4) Saga

5) Khata

6) Ghanta

They give items in a mud pot, sizes of these pots vary from a very small which can serve one person to big ones which can serve a group of people >10. The price of the smallest pot is around 15-20 rupees. Also, vendors provide a thaali like option where they give all items in a small quantity sufficient for one person, charging 100 rupees I believe. One more thing, all the 56 items mentioned may not be available with a single vendor, you may have to go around different vendors to taste everything(if you want to buy the Mahaprasad from Anand Bazar). But, Anand Bazar is small enough to go around quickly. You can buy some items from one vendor and some from another, e.g you can buy rice/dal/some curry from one and other curries from a different vendor. People do so if they find some curries are over with other vendors. People also do bargain a little bit, not much though.

The main 56 items of CHAPANA BHOGA or MAHAPRASAD are as follows:

1. Sadha Anna – Simple Rice water

2. Kanika – Rice, Ghee, and Sugar

3. Dahi Pakhal – Curd Rice and water

4. Ada Pakhal – Rice, Ginger, and water

5. Thali Khechedi – Lentil, Rice with Sugar and Ghee

6. Ghea Anna – Rice mixed with Ghee

7. Khechedi – Rice mixed with Lentil

8. Mitha Pakhal – Rice, Sugar, and water

9. Odia Pakhal – Rice, Ghee, Lemon and Salt

Sweets

10. Khaja – Made of wheat

11. Gaja – Made of wheat, sugar, and Ghee

12. Ladu – Made of wheat, sugar, and Ghee

13. Magaja Ladu

14. Jeera Ladu

15. Jagannath Ballav – Wheat, Sugar, and Ghee

16. Khuruma – Made of Wheat, Sugar, and Salt

17. Mathapuli – Made of Ghee, Ginger and a kind of beans ground into a thick paste

18. Kakara – Made of Ghee and Wheat

19. Marichi Ladu – Made of Wheat and Sugar

20. Luni Khuruma – Made of Wheat, Ghee, and Salt

(On return of Bahuda Yatra during Suna Vesha, Rasagolla are offered as Bhogas but on no other day Rasagollas are allowed for Bhog)

Cakes, Pancakes, and Patties

21. Suar Pitha – Made of wheat and Ghee

22. Chadai Lada – Made of Wheat, Ghee, and Sugar

23. Jhilli – Rice Flour, Ghee and Sugar

24. Kanti – Rice Flour and Ghee

25. Manda – Made of wheat and Ghee

26. Amalu – Made of wheat, ghee, and sugar

27. Puri – Made of wheat and Ghee and deeply fried like a small thin pancake

28. Luchi – Made of Rice, Flour, and Ghee

29. Bara – Made of Curd, Ghee and a kind of beans

30. Dahi Bara – Cake made of a kind of a beans and curd

31. Arisa – A flat cake made of Rice flour and Ghee

32. Tripuri – Another flat cake made of Rice, Flour and Ghee

33. Rosapaik – A cake made of wheat and

Milk Preparations

34. Khiri – Milk, Sugar with Rice

35. Papudi – Prepared from only the cream of milk

36. Khua – Prepared out of Pure Milk slowly boiled over many hours to a soft custard-like consistency

37. Rasabali – Made of Milk, Sugar, and Wheat

38. Tadia – Made of fresh cheese, sugar, and Ghee

39. Chhena Khai – Made of fresh Cheese, milk, and sugar

40. Bapudi Khaja – the cream of milk, sugar, and ghee

41. Khua Manda – Made of milk, wheat and Ghee

42. Sarapulli – This is the most famous and most difficult milk dish to prepare. It is made of pure milk boiled slowly for hours and spread into a large pizza-shaped pan.

Curry with Vegetables

43. Dali

44. Biri dali

45. Urid Dal

46. Muga Dal

47. Dalama – This is one of the typical dishes in Oriya Home. It is a combination of Dahl and Vegetable. Usually, eggplant, beans, sweet potato, and tomatoes, although tomatoes are not used in Temple preparations. Coconuts and a dried root of vegetables known as Bodhi which looks like a mushroom and is high in protein are added.

48. Maur

49. Besar

50. Sag – A spinach dish

51. Potala Rasa

52. Goti Baigana

53. Khata

54. Raita – a yogurt like dish with curd and radish.

55. Pita

56. Baigilni

Except buying The Mahaprasad from the Anand Bazar you can also get it from the official counter where the prices of the meals vary from lowest 1000/- to more than one lakh, according to your budget scale and how many people you want to feed. My personal suggestion is to get The Mahaprasad from the official counter because from there you can get the most freshly cooked Prasad.

My friend, you’re super lucky if you are getting to eat the blessed food once in your life. Trust me, not any taste can satisfy your food cravings as this Mahaprasad does. Having Mahaprasad to content your hunger belly is beyond any bliss and having a rare darshan of Lord Jagannath is beyond any boon.