What Is Prasad, and How Should You Receive It?

If you visit a Hindu temple, there is a good chance someone will hand you a small sweet, a piece of fruit or a spoonful of something warm. This is prasad (also written prasadam), and it is one of the most generous traditions you will find in any place of worship.

What prasad means

Prasad means "grace" or "blessing". It is food that has first been offered to a deity during worship and is then shared with devotees. Receiving and eating it is understood as receiving the deity's blessing. Because of this, prasad is treated with care and respect.

Common types of prasad

• Sweets such as laddu, peda, kesari or halwa
• Fruit, often bananas, apples or oranges
• Dry fruits and nuts, sometimes mixed with sugar crystals
• Panchamrit or charanamrit, a sweet liquid made with milk, yogurt, honey, sugar and ghee, served in a spoon
• Cooked dishes such as pongal, sweet rice, lemon rice or sambar rice in South Indian temples

Temple kitchens prepare prasad as vegetarian food. Many temples avoid onion and garlic in prasad as well.

How to receive it

• Use your right hand, or hold both hands together with the right hand on top.
• If you are given liquid prasad, cup your right hand, sip it, and pass your hand over your head.
• Eat prasad rather than discarding it. If you cannot eat it there, it is fine to take it home.
• It is polite to say thank you or simply smile and nod.

Allergies and dietary needs

Prasad often contains milk, ghee, nuts, sugar and wheat. If you have an allergy or a medical dietary restriction, it is perfectly acceptable to accept prasad respectfully and not eat it, or to politely explain that you cannot eat it. Nobody will be offended.

Temple meals

Many temples in the US serve free community meals, sometimes called annadanam or langar-style meals, on weekends or festival days. Others run a canteen or cafeteria where you can buy vegetarian South Indian or North Indian food at reasonable prices. These are often a highlight of a temple visit and a great way to meet the community.

Offering prasad yourself

Devotees sometimes bring fruit, flowers, sweets or milk as an offering. If you would like to bring something, check with the temple office first; many temples prefer packaged or fresh items and have rules about what can be offered at the shrines.

Prasad is a gesture of welcome. Accept it with an open heart, and enjoy.