Naivedyam

Courtesy : ISKCON(http://www.veda.harekrsna.cz/bhaktiyoga/bhaktiyoga-5.htm#8)

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Naivedya: Food Offered To The Lord

Ekanath Das, 1997

The glories of food and the glories of other items (especially flowers), that have been offered to the Deity, will be discussed.

In ISKCON we talk a lot about prasadam and maha-prasadam, which we simply call "Maha". If we were to search for key words in Sanskrit books, like verse beginnings in the slokanukramanika (an alphabetical verse index that is sometimes supplied with a Purana or other literature), we would wrongly conclude that these books do not have much to say about prasadam. There are however a great number of statements, especially in the Brahma-vaivarta Purana, the Hari-bhakti-vilasa and other books, but we would have to search for the words naivedyam, niveditam, nirmalyam, sesa, avasesa etc.

It so happened that I began to search for these entries, after Srila Harikesa Maharaja had posted a message in COM, in which he asked whether anyone could supply a sastric reference to the effect that a person who takes Krsna-prasadam, would attain liberation after 700 births. What I found is as follows:

In the Hari-bhakti-vilasa, just as there is a Nirmalya-mahatmya at the end of the eighth vilasa, so there is at the end of the ninth vilasa a section called Naivedya-mahatmyam, The Glories of Prasadam. There are some fifteen verses, quoted from different sources, and even though there is nothing about liberation after 700 births, still, the wonderful results of taking prasadam, which are listed there, are sometimes exceeding simple liberation after 700 births.

It is stated that the remnants of food offered to the Lord have the potency of one million fire sacrifices; then there is a nice verse ending with the statement:

yo 'snati nityam purato murareh
prapnoti yajnayuta-koti-punyam

"One who takes the food that was previously accepted by Murari, attains the pious results of ten-thousand times ten-million fire yajnas."

After this verse, which is numbered as 130 in my Bengali edition, verse 131 comes as a commentary of the above, as it were:

sadbhir masopavasais tu
yat phalam parikirtitam
visnor naivedya-sese yat
phalam tad bhunjatam kalau

This verse explains that in the Kali-yuga, a person who eats the remnants of food offered to Lord Visnu, gets the same pious credits as if he has been observing a fast for six months.

In the Brahma-vaivarta Purana (4.37.27) it is stated that a person who happens to eat the remnants of food offered to the Lord, in the association of sadhus, gets the results of performing sixty thousand years of austerities.

In general, most quotes compare the powers of taking the remnants of food that has been offered to the Lord to the performance of a particular number of certain yajnas.

Now somebody may argue that liberation is still better than any number of yajnas, because yajnas take you to heaven only. Even though the yajnas are specified in one verse as agnistoma and vajapeya, the meaning is not limited to that. In verse 133 there is a quite interesting (and a little funny) statement, that explains what one actually gets:

hrdi rupam mukhe nama
naivedyam udare hareh
padodakam ca nirmalyam
mastake yasya so 'cyutah

"Having the form of the Lord in one's heart, His name in one's mouth, the remnants of His food in one's belly, the water that has washed His feet on one's head and (being decorated with) garlands and flowers that had been offered to the Lord, one becomes (like) Acyuta."

Sanatana Gosvami comments on the words "sah acyutah": "Acyutah means like Acyuta, because one attains the liberations beginning with sarupya."

Still, one may argue that liberation simply from taking prasadam is not possible, because the above verse should mean that one must meet all the requirements simultaneously, i.e.:

1. form in one's heart,
2. name in one's mouth,
3. food in one's belly,
4. water on one's head,
5. garlands, tulasi, flowers etc. all around

Narada Purana, Uttara-bhaga 67.41, states:

naivedyam bhaksayec capi sa muktim labhate dhruvam

"One who happens to eat the remnants of food offered to the Lord, definitely attains liberation."

Here are further quotes from the Brahma-vaivarta Purana:

In the Brahma-vaivarta Purana 2.36.27-41 Durvasa Muni is heavily chastising Indra. What has happened is that Durvasa had received a garland from the Deity and was walking down the street with that garland around his neck. Then he met Indra who was riding on his elephant. Durvasa gave Indra his garland, but Indra, instead of decorating himself respectfully with that garland, placed it on the head of his elephant carrier. The animal grabbed the garland with his trunk and threw it on the ground. This of course enraged Durvasa Muni, who took the opportunity to give a long speech condemning Indra in which he lists the glories of remnants in general and prasadam in particular. He also points out that he should have been respected, because he, wearing the garland, had now become sanctified. The passage goes as follows:

27

durvasa uvaca
are sriya pramattas tvam katham mam avamanyase
mad-datta-puspam garvena tyaktavan hasti-mastake

"Maddened by your opulence and because of pride you have placed the garland which I gave you on the head of your elephant!"

28

visnor niveditam puspam naivedyam va phalam jalam
prapti-matrena bhoktavyam tyagena brahma-ha janah

"One should respectfully accept items offered to Lord Visnu, such as flowers, food, fruits or water, at that very moment when one receives them. A person who refuses such sanctified articles is guilty of killing a brahmana."

29

bhrasta-srir bhrasta-buddhis ca bhrasta-jnano bhaven narah
yas tyajed visnu-naivedyam bhagyenopasthitam subham

"If he rejects the remnants of items offered to Lord Visnu, which are being presented to him by some good fortune, such a person looses his wealth and beauty, his intelligence and knowledge."

30

prapti-matrena yo bhunkte bhaktya visnu-niveditam
pumsam satam samuddhrtya jivan-muktah svayam bhavet

"One who immediately and with devotion accepts the sanctified remnants of items offered to Lord Visnu, becomes liberated in the self-same body (as the only one out of hundreds of excellent persons)."

31

visnu-naivedya-bhoji yo nityam tu pranamed dharim
pujayet stauti va bhaktya sa visnu sadrso bhavet

Here Durvasa also explains that one becomes "just like Visnu", if one respects prasadam properly and offers obeisances and prayers with devotion.

32

tat-sparsa-vayuna sadyas tirthaughas ca visuddhyati
tat-pada-rajasa mudha sadyah puta vasundhara

"The breeze that touched the body of such a saintly person (like me), at once purifies tons of holy places. O fool! The dust of his feet purifies the planet earth."

33

pumscaly-annam avirannam sudra-sraddhannam eva ca
yad dharer anivedyam ca vrtha mamsam abhaksakam

34

siva-linga-pradattannam yad annam sudra-yajinam
cikitsaka-dvijanam ca devalannam tathaiva ca

35

kanyavikrayinam-annam yad annam yoni-jivinam
anusnannam paryusitam sarva-bhaksyavasesitam

36

sudra-pati-dvijannam ca vrsavaha-dvijannakam
adiksita-dvijannam ca yad annam savadahinam

37

agamya-gaminam caiva dvijanam annam eva ca
mitra-druham krtaghnanam annam visvasaghatinam

38

mithya-saksya-pradanam ca brahmananam tathaiva ca
etat sarvam visuddhyeta visnu-naivedya-bhaksanat

In these six verses Durvasa Muni is elaborately listing all sorts of food prepared by low class people and therefore unofferable. He recommends that one eats Visnu-prasadam to counteract the inauspicious effects of eating such sinful food.

39

sva-paco visnu-sevi ca vamsanam kotim uddharet
harer abhakto vipras ca svam ca raksitum aksamah

Just like SB 7.9.10

40

ajnanad yadi grhnati visnor nirmalyam eva ca
sapta-janmarjitat papan mucyate natra samsayah

"If one (by chance) unknowingly accepts the remnants of items offered to Lord Visnu he becomes freed from the results of sins accumulated during his last seven births. Of this there is no doubt."

41

jnatva bhaktya ca grhnati visnor naivedyam eva ca
koti-janmarjitat papan mucyate natra samsayah

"But if one knowingly and with devotion accepts the remnants of food offered to Lord Visnu, one is freed from one's sins accumulated during the last ten million births. Of this there is no doubt."

Brahma-vaivarta Purana, 4.75.54 (Narayana speaks to Narada)

visnor ucchista-bhoji yo matsyam mamsam na khadati
pade pade asvamedhasya labhate niscitam phalam

"One who eats the remnants of food offered to Lord Visnu and who does not eat fish or meat, is positively assured to receive the results of the asvamedha yajna at every moment of his existence."

Brahma-vaivarta Purana, 4.83.7,29,30 (Krsna speaks to Nanda Maharaja)

7

nityam bhunkte mat-prasadam anivedya kadacana
annam vistha jalam mutram yad visnor aniveditam

"For him who always eats the remnants of food offered to Me, if he should at any time eat unoffered food, those grains will be like stool and water will taste like urine."

29

visnu-prasada-bhoji ca pavitram kurute mahim
tirthani ca narams caiva jivan-mukto hi sa dvijah

30

sarva-tirthesu sah snato vratanam ca phalam labhet
pade pade asvamedhasya labhate niscitam phalam

"One who eats Visnu-prasadam purifies the whole earth, the holy places and the people. Such a brahmana is liberated in the self-same body. He is considered to have taken bath and to have observed sacred vows in all places of pilgrimage. He is positively assured to receive the results of the asvamedha yajna at every moment of his existence."

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Prasadam

- different grades acc to pujari's advancement or "either/or"?

Astaratha Das: There is no "half-accepted bhoga; Krsna accepts food when offered according to the rules, when there is bhakti it is like addition - there are different grades according to the advancement of the cook.

- offering to present living guru or to Krsna through the picture of the guru?

Harikesa Swami: SP used to take bhoga cooked for him; the rest of bhoga is offered through picture.

- effect:

Babhru das: In Honolulu in early 1974, Srila Prabhupada said it was not necessarily the case that any creature eating prasadam would automatically get a human birth. He explained that the benefit derived from eating prasadam depends on the appreciation for the prasadam. If someone appreciates that he got something to put in his belly, he gets some benefit; if he likes it because it tastes good, he gets even more benefit; if he appreciates that it is the Lord's remnants, he gets the most benefit. (As far as I know, these questions after classes were not taped because they may have (and often did) deal with sensitive issues, as our GBC and leading sannyasi had just left ISKCON and closed all the temples in the islands, and many devotees left with them, at least for a time.)

- already eaten not to be left for others:

SB 11.18.19, quoted in CC 2.3.74 (esp. for sannyasis), Kalyana-kalpataru, Ucchvasa 3, section 2, song 8, verses 2, 4 - nije srestha 'jani' ucchisthadi dane - quoted in CC 3.4.173 p.), Manu 2.56. Padma Purana, Patala Khanda 82.35:

na anyocchistam ca bhunjita
na anya sesam ca dharayet
avaisnavanam sambhasa
vandanadi vivarjayet

One should not eat other's leftovers and one should not wear the clothes previously worn by others. One should not talk to avaisnavas (atheists) and one should not praise others.

KNR
--
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