The offering of food and connected worship rituals are the most important part of the worship in the Jagannatha Temple. The cost of the Bhoga Mandapa offerings is not paid by the Government of Temple Administration, but it is covered by the various Mathas, that supply rice, wheat, dal, ghee, molasses, sugar, suji, black pepper, gram, mung dal, milk, curd, spices, turmeric, cumin, salt, hing, chickpea flour, vegetable oil, coconuts, vegetables and firewood for the cooking. After the offerings, the food is sold to the general public in Ananda Bazar by the Mathas. According to the demand, the Bhoga Mandapa offering is done two or three times a day. The ingredients are kept in the store on the back of the kitchen. The cooks are required to eat their meal before going to the temple kitchen for their service, so that “they will not hunger after the food” they are preparing. Besides, they must keep a cloth tied over their mouth, to avoid any contamination of the food. It is said that if the food is polluted in any way, the clay pots will break before the food is offered.
During the dressing of the Deities in the morning, the first Bhoga offering is placed within the Garbha griha, in three rectangles drawn with colored powders. A small portion of Bhoga is placed in a metal plate and put on the Ratnavedi with the other upachara articles (water, flowers, lamp, etc), while the rest is kept on the ground in clay pots. The preparation of the day food offering is also very complex. Ten mahamudras, the mula mantra and astra mantra (svaha) are used. The priest looks at the food with mudras and places a protection on it with the astra mantra. The mula mantra (yam) symbolizing Vayu is used to blow away impurities, then water is sprinkled, then again Vayu dries it. With the right hand the Agni mantra (ram) is used to burn the matter to ashes, and the Varuna mantra (vam) is used to recreate it as nectar. At this point the priest offers padya and achamaniya to the Deity and honors the food with an offering of sandalwood paste, rice and flower, chanting the mantra “sri krishnaya sangopangaya sarvatmane bhagavate idam naivedyam svaha”. Then he calls down the tejas from the mouth of the Deity, touches the food with his hand and chants the mula mantra eight times. Holding flowers in his hand, he asks the Deity to take the food. Then he offers some drops of water saying amrtapastaranamasi and performs the five grasa mudras offering five morsels of food to strengthen the five Pranas (pranaya svaha, apanaya svaha, vyanaya svaha, udannaya svaha, samanaya svaha). Then he chants the mula mantra on japa for 54 or 108 times. Then he offers the drinking water, then the nectar (some drops from another container of water, transformed by the mantra amrtapidhanamasi). He then offers achamana, dries the face of the Lord with a towel, then offers tambula (rolled betel leaf). The food offering is thus completed.
The doors to the Ratna vedi are opened, the arati is offered with seven flames of burning camphor in a metal plate, then flowers and vandanam (offering homage) are offered. The arati is performed to the accompaniment of music in the Nata Mandapa. To complete the worship, the priest meditates on the Deity as pure consciousness and withdraws the divine tejas into his own heart. He first takes the offered flowers in his hand, puts them to the right nostril of the vigraha so that the tejas will descend into them, and then raises the flowers to his own left nostril and “inspires” the divine tejas back into his own heart. The samarpani mudra closes the completion of the ritual.
The food offered to Jagannatha is sent to the shrine of Vimala Devi for a short puja, after which it is considered mahaprasada. Finally, the priest takes some of the offered flowers on his body and accepts the remnants of the offerings (lamp, flowers, sandalwood paste, etc) and some mahaprasadam. The mahaprasadam is traditionally distributed to the Sevakas and the devotees in the temple and consumed immediately. An important part of the worship consists in asking forgiveness for any mistakes committed in the process.
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| Mahaprasadam |
During the dressing of the Deities in the morning, the first Bhoga offering is placed within the Garbha griha, in three rectangles drawn with colored powders. A small portion of Bhoga is placed in a metal plate and put on the Ratnavedi with the other upachara articles (water, flowers, lamp, etc), while the rest is kept on the ground in clay pots. The preparation of the day food offering is also very complex. Ten mahamudras, the mula mantra and astra mantra (svaha) are used. The priest looks at the food with mudras and places a protection on it with the astra mantra. The mula mantra (yam) symbolizing Vayu is used to blow away impurities, then water is sprinkled, then again Vayu dries it. With the right hand the Agni mantra (ram) is used to burn the matter to ashes, and the Varuna mantra (vam) is used to recreate it as nectar. At this point the priest offers padya and achamaniya to the Deity and honors the food with an offering of sandalwood paste, rice and flower, chanting the mantra “sri krishnaya sangopangaya sarvatmane bhagavate idam naivedyam svaha”. Then he calls down the tejas from the mouth of the Deity, touches the food with his hand and chants the mula mantra eight times. Holding flowers in his hand, he asks the Deity to take the food. Then he offers some drops of water saying amrtapastaranamasi and performs the five grasa mudras offering five morsels of food to strengthen the five Pranas (pranaya svaha, apanaya svaha, vyanaya svaha, udannaya svaha, samanaya svaha). Then he chants the mula mantra on japa for 54 or 108 times. Then he offers the drinking water, then the nectar (some drops from another container of water, transformed by the mantra amrtapidhanamasi). He then offers achamana, dries the face of the Lord with a towel, then offers tambula (rolled betel leaf). The food offering is thus completed.
The doors to the Ratna vedi are opened, the arati is offered with seven flames of burning camphor in a metal plate, then flowers and vandanam (offering homage) are offered. The arati is performed to the accompaniment of music in the Nata Mandapa. To complete the worship, the priest meditates on the Deity as pure consciousness and withdraws the divine tejas into his own heart. He first takes the offered flowers in his hand, puts them to the right nostril of the vigraha so that the tejas will descend into them, and then raises the flowers to his own left nostril and “inspires” the divine tejas back into his own heart. The samarpani mudra closes the completion of the ritual.
The food offered to Jagannatha is sent to the shrine of Vimala Devi for a short puja, after which it is considered mahaprasada. Finally, the priest takes some of the offered flowers on his body and accepts the remnants of the offerings (lamp, flowers, sandalwood paste, etc) and some mahaprasadam. The mahaprasadam is traditionally distributed to the Sevakas and the devotees in the temple and consumed immediately. An important part of the worship consists in asking forgiveness for any mistakes committed in the process.
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| Mahaprasadam for sale |
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