Share
The season of festivities begins tomorrow in Odisha with the revered Rath Yatra. This yearly yatra marks Lord Jagannath leaving his home for the 14 days to visit his aunt (mausi) at Gundicha Temple. In Hindu mythology, most gods and goddesses are known to have some or the favourite food item, and Lord Jagannath is no different. In fact, he is often referred to as the ‘feasting lord’.
It’s believed that Lord Jagannath has a big appetite, and hence a huge, delectable spread is offered to him in the form of the Mahaprasad Bhog. Also known as Bhoga Khaiya (one who eats a lot of bhoga), Lord Jagannatha is served with 56 different items of bhoga at his temple in Puri. it consists of 24 kinds of sabzi, seven to eight types of pakodas, 8 varieties of rice, asogolla, gulab jamun, pati sapta, laddu, peethas, milk cake and more. It’s a delight to watch how the Chappan Bhog is prepared and served to him. Later, the prasad is brought to ‘Anand Bazar’, which means ‘a blissful marketplace’. Earthen pots and firewood are used to cook the Mahaprasad in the temple kitchen. It is made without any tomatoes, onion, garlic, and potatoes. It’s cooked in the holy fire of Vaisanavagni in the temple kitchen, which has been on for hundreds of years.
It’s only in Lord Jagannath’s temple that the bhog is called Mahaprasad.
There are two types of Mahaprasad – the Sankhudi Mahaprasad and the Sukhila Mahaprasad. Sankhudi Mahaprasad is the one that includes wet or cooked food items like rice, butter rice, hing-ginger rice, mixed rice, sweet dal, mixed vegetable curries of different types, and porridge. The people of Puri also refer to the Sankhudi Mahaprasad as Abhada. In Odia, badha means ‘something that is served’ and a-badha means ‘something that is nOT served’. Hence, the prasad is offered to the lord in the form of cooked food along with the earthen pots too, and not plated or served.
On the other hand, Sukhila Mahaprasad, as the name suggests, is dry or not cooked. It includes items that are both salty and sweet - such as Kahaja, Sarapuri, Amalu, Khurma, Magaja Ladoo, and Kakara. These are made using flour, sugar, wheat, jaggery, rice flours, and ghee. The speciality of this prasad is that it has nirmalya.
Courtesy- Instagram -ame_odia_ama_jagannath
Another interesting fact is that the rice that is used for cooking the prasad is called amunia, while the cooked rice in the temple kitchen is called anna. Once cooked, the rice is moved out of the temple kitchen. It’s called chheka, and when it is kept on the Bhairavi Chakra of the offering hall, it is called bhoga. When it is finally offered to Goddess Bimala, it is called the Mahaprasad. The humble rice too sees so many variations here.
Lord Jagannatha is believed to be a foodie, and is also referred as the ‘eating god’. During the Ratha Yatra at ISKCON, Mayapur, the Mahaprasad sees a plethora of delicacies including - pakora, sabzi, dal, rasmalai, and more. In modern times, he is also offered dishes like pizza, pasta, fried noodles, and lasagna as part of the Mahaprasad.
It’s an experience of a lifetime to get the chance to indulge in this Mahaprasad. Plated on a banana leaf, it’s compulsory to eat all that if offered. You can always say ‘no’ to something that you don’t want to eat, but cannot waste food.
