Vedic Wisdom
At the end of almost every Hindu ceremony something is handed to you — a sweet, a piece of fruit, a spoonful of something. Here is what prasad is, why it matters, and what to do with it.
Quick answer
Prasad is anything that has first been offered to the deity during worship and is then distributed to those present — most often food, but also flowers, water or the kumkum applied to the forehead. The word means grace or a gracious gift. Once offered, the food is no longer simply food; it is understood to carry the blessing of the ceremony, which is why it is shared rather than kept.
With the right hand, or with both hands cupped together, and with a small nod or a namaste. Eat it there if you can, or take it home. If you cannot eat it for dietary or health reasons, accept it politely and pass it to a family member or keep it respectfully; nobody expects you to eat something that would harm you.
In Hindu worship the deity is treated as an honoured guest. The puja offers water, a seat, light, fragrance, flowers and food — the same hospitality one would give a beloved visitor. The food offered is called naivedya. Once the offering is complete, that same food becomes prasad and is distributed to everyone present, without distinction. Guests, family, children, the priest and anyone who happens to be passing all receive the same thing.
That is the point of it. Prasad turns worship outward. The blessing asked for in the ceremony is not kept by the family who held it but handed to everyone in the room, and often sent to those who could not come. In many households a portion is set aside for neighbours, for elderly relatives, or for the family’s own shrine.
What is offered varies enormously. For a Satyanarayan Puja many families prepare a sweet semolina dish. At Ganesh pujas the modak or laddu is traditional. Fruit, dried fruit, sugar crystals, panchamrit — the mixture of milk, yoghurt, honey, ghee and sugar — and simple home-cooked sweets are all common. It is almost always vegetarian and prepared without onion and garlic in many families, though this too varies.
Commonly
What is offered depends on the deity, the occasion and the family.
01
Laddu, modak, sheera or a home-made sweet. Often the main prasad at a household puja.
02
Cut fruit, a banana, a piece of coconut. Coconut broken during the ceremony is very often distributed.
03
five nectars
A spoonful of the mixture of milk, yoghurt, honey, ghee and sugar used to bathe the deity. Taken in the right palm and sipped.
04
blessed water
Water from the puja, offered a spoonful at a time into the right palm. Sipped, and the remainder touched to the head.
05
A flower from the offering, or the red kumkum applied to the forehead as a tilak. Both are prasad, though not eaten.
06
At many family occasions the meal that follows is itself considered prasad, having been offered before anyone eats.
For guests
Tell the family beforehand if you can; most prasad contains dairy, nuts or wheat. On the day, accept it politely and pass it to someone or keep it. Declining to eat for genuine reasons causes no offence at all.
You are welcome to. Prasad is offered to everyone present without distinction and accepting it is simply accepting hospitality. If you would rather not, a polite gesture of thanks is entirely acceptable.
The right hand, or both hands cupped with the right on top. Receiving with the left hand alone is avoided in most Hindu households.
Prasad is not put in the bin in most families. Take it home, share it, or return it quietly to a family member. Flowers and leaves are usually placed in a garden or under a tree.
Where a family prepares prasad for their own puja, it is cooked cleanly, kept aside and not tasted before it is offered. Your priest will tell you what is customary for the ceremony you are holding. Please mention any allergies among guests so that alternatives can be prepared.
Questions
Written by Shastri Ji Manishbhai Pandya. Last reviewed . Hindu practice varies between regions, communities, families and sampradayas; this guide explains a widely recognised form and is not a ruling on how any family should observe it.
A question is always welcome
Tell us the ceremony and roughly when. You will be told what prasad is customary, and anything you need for it can be included in the samagri list.