Prasada

Prasada (in Sanskrit and Kannada), Prasadam (in Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil and Sanskrit), Prasad Hindustani pronunciation: [prəsaːd̪] (in Marathi), Prasad (in Bengali and Hindi) or Mahaprasada (in Odia) is a material substance of food that is a religious offering in both Hinduism and Sikhism. It is normally consumed by worshippers after worship. It is derived from the same verb सद् (to sit, dwell)prefixed with प्र. (before, afore, in front) and used as finite verb प्रसीदति - dwells, presides, pleases or favours etc. (To preside and president from Latin praesidere thus have the same etymological derivation in Latin but with slightly different meaning).

'Prasada' literally means a gracious gift. It denotes anything, typically an edible food, that is first offered to a deity, saint, Perfect Master or an avatar, and then distributed in His or Her name to their followers or others as a good sign.

As a spiritual state prasāda has a rich history of meanings in the Sanskrit tradition from Vedic literature onwards. In this textual tradition, prasada is a mental state experienced by gods, sages, and other powerful beings and is marked by spontaneous generosity and the bestowing of boons. In the earliest literature (Rig Veda) onwards Prasāda is understood in this sense of a mental state, not as an aspect of ritual practice. In later texts such as the Shiva Purana, references to prasada as a material substance begins to appear alongside this older meaning.

In its material sense, prasada is created by a process of giving and receiving between a human devotee and the divine god. For example, a devotee makes an offering of a material substance such as flowers, fruits, or sweets — which is called naivedya. The deity then 'enjoys' or tastes a bit of the offering, which is then temporarily known as bhogya. This now-divinely invested substance is called prasāda 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.

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