eating the naivedya food before offering it to God is strictly forbidden. The food is first placed before a deity and specific prayers are offered with accompanying rituals. Afterwards, the food is considered as having been blessed by God, and has officially become the sanctified prasada. In its material sense, prasada is created by a process of giving and receiving between a human devotee and the god. For example, a devotee makes an offering of a material substance such as flowers, fruits, or sweets. The deity then 'enjoys' or tastes a bit of the offering. This now-divinely invested substance is called prasada 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. Offering food and subsequently receiving prasada is central to the practice of puja. Any food that is offered either physically to the image of God or silently in prayer is considered prasada. In Sikhism, karah parshad is served to the congregation after prayer and reading of scripture. Parshad represents the same values as langar in that it is served indiscriminately. Kurukshetra Prasadam (Channa laddu) in 48 kos parikrama of Kurukshetra, Tirupati Laddu and Mathura peda in the Braj Parikrama are geo-specialty prasada. See also Bhog Kripa References External links Objects used in Hindu worship Puja (Hinduism) Sanskrit words and phrases Sikh practices Religious food and drink Food and drink in Hinduism