Food is the basic necessity of every human being. Food offered (नैवेद्यम्) to the Deity is a part of a worship ritual, before we consume it. The act of offering food (नैवेद्यम्) is just showing gratitude towards the Deity as, He is the one who gives us food every day. Offering the food (नैवेद्यम्) also indicates that, we thank the Deity for the food He is providing us every day.
नैवेद्यम् is a Sanskrit word which means "an offering of eatables to the Deity", in the stricter sense of the word. Offering food (नैवेद्यम्) is one of the 16 Worshiping Practice (षोडश उपचारः) & the 5 Worshiping Practice (पञ्च उपचारः). Generally, this ritual is done at the temple every day. The offerings may include cooked food or fruits or sweets. Only vegetarian food is offered & later distributed to the devotees who are present in the temple. We also offer cooked food or some fruits to the picture or idol of the Deity at home before we consume it. This act is showing gratitude & respect towards the Deity for giving us the food, there is also a saying in Sanskrit that "यथा देहे तथा देवे।" which means "as to the body so to the God". Whatever our body consumes we should offer it to the Deity before consuming it. The Deity is omnipotent & omniscient. We are the part, while the Deity is the whole. Here, this act also signifies that, we don't do any act without showing it to the Deities & also the Deities always watch over what we are doing,eating,etc. No one can hide anything from the Deity. Knowing this, our attitude towards food & the act of eating changes. The food we receive from the Deity will be naturally pure & best. We do not complain or criticize the quality of the food we receive from the Deity.
In Hinduism, food plays an important role in rituals & worship. However, one needs to differentiate offering the food (नैवेद्यम्) from receiving the offered food (प्रसादः). The meaning of these words, respectively, is usually attributed to food that is first offered to the Deities by us is called नैवेद्यम्, & ultimately receiving the same from the Deity is called प्रसादः. The Sanskrit word "प्रसादः" means "a sacred food/ auspicious food or the divine grace of the Deity". प्रसादः is to be consumed by attendees as a Sacred offering from the Deities.
The offered food (नैवेद्यम्) to the Deity is considered as a Sacred offering (प्रसादः) & it is considered extremely auspicious to be able to partake a morsel of that. Offerings of food in home shrines are relatively simpler, though the Hindu having observed cleanliness of body & mind will attempt to do so using pure items & in a purified space. A common practice is to mix the offered food (नैवेद्यम्) back into the remaining food before partaking it so that every member of the house can take the advantage of the sacred food (प्रसादः) offered in return by the Deity. Hindu scriptures declare that, eating food without offering to the Deities first is stealing.
Now let’s see the correct way of offering the food (नैवेद्यम्) to the Deity. The food is first placed before the Deity & some water is sprinkled on the food as an act of purification & then specific Shlokas are uttered with accompanying rituals of offering the food (नैवेद्यम्). Afterwards, the food is considered as having been Blessed by the Deity, & has officially become the sanctified (प्रसाद:).
The shlokas are;
नैवेद्यं गृह्यतां देव भक्तिं मे ह्यचलां कुरु ।
ईप्सितं मे वरं देहि परत्र च परां गतिम् ॥
Meaning- O Lord, please accept this food & make my Devotion steady towards You; please grant my desired Boons (in this World) & excellent State in the next (World).
शर्कराखण्डखाद्यानि दधिक्षीरघृतानि च ।
आहारं भक्ष्यभोज्यं च नैवेद्यं प्रतिगृह्यताम् ॥
Meaning- Food prepared with sugar, curd, thickened milk & clarified butter (cow's ghee) has been offered to You; please accept this food for eating as Naivedya (& bless me).
After uttering these shlokas, the ritual of offering the food is done by uttering;
प्राणाय स्वाहा।
अपानाय स्वाहा।
व्यानाय स्वाहा।
उदानाय स्वाहा।
समानाय स्वाहा।
ब्रह्मणे नमः।
This process is done for offering the food to the Deities & later again we have to offer the food uttering;
प्राणाय स्वाहा।
अपानाय स्वाहा।
व्यानाय स्वाहा।
उदानाय स्वाहा।
समानाय स्वाहा।
This process is for the offering to the inner self (i.e. inner vital forces). Then we have to offer 3 spoons (आचमनी) of water while uttering;
हस्तप्रक्षालनम्।
मुखप्रक्षालनम्।
करोद्वर्तनार्थं गंधं समर्पयामि।
This is for washing hands & face of the Deity & offering fragrant powder respectively, as an act of purifying hands.
After this ritual we can partake the food which we get in return from the Deity (प्रसाद:). We can actually make spiritual progress by eating the offered Sacred food (प्रसाद:). Our devotion & Deity's grace, subtly transforms the food offered from material nutrition to spiritual grace (प्रसाद:).
Whenever we are out of the house & it was not possible to offer the food (नैवेद्यम्) to the Deity, then we must join our hands & utter the shlokas, which is also another way of offering the food to the Deities & gesture of showing gratitude. The First 2 shlokas are from Bhagavad Geeta & the 3rd shloka is from the Annapurna Stotram. The shlokas are as follows;
ब्रह्मार्पणं ब्रह्म हविर्ब्रह्माग्नौ ब्रह्मणा हुतम् ।
ब्रह्मैव तेन गन्तव्यं ब्रह्मकर्मसमाधिना ॥४.२४।।
Meaning- For those who are completely absorbed in God-consciousness, the oblation is Brahman, the ladle with which it is offered is Brahman, the act of offering is Brahman & the sacrificial fire is also Brahman. Such persons, who sees everything as God, easily attain Him.
अन्नाद्भवन्ति भूतानि पर्जन्यादन्नसम्भवः ।
यज्ञाद्भवति पर्जन्यो यज्ञः कर्मसमुद्भवः ॥३.१४।।
Meaning- All living bodies survive on food grains, which are produced from rain. Rains are produced by performing sacrificial rites, & the sacrificial rites are born of prescribed duties.
अन्नपूर्णे सदापूर्णे शङ्करप्राणवल्लभे ।
ज्ञानवैराग्यसिद्ध्यर्थं भिक्षां देहि च पार्वति ॥११॥
Meaning- O Mother Annapurna, You are always complete & You are dear to Lord Shankara, please give me alms of knowledge & renunciation.
Important instructions for preparing the food to offer (नैवेद्यम्) to the Deities:
Before we can offer any food to the Deity, first we must follow some important rules while preparing the food (नैवेद्यम्). During ancient days, there was one most important rule that, one must wear clothes made up of pure silk & then only one can prepare the food for the Deities. But, now a days no one follows this rule, but if one can do so then this will give the best result.
1. One should not make the food without taking bath. While making the food (नैवेद्यम्), the body & the mind should be clean, then only one can make the food for the Deities. This is the first & foremost rule.
2. One should be in a calm, peaceful & contemplative state of mind while preparing food (नैवेद्यम्) for the Deity.
3. It is important to maintain a high standard of cleanliness while preparing, cooking & offering the food (नैवेद्यम्). The kitchen, utensils & foods used should be clean.
4. The Deities only accepts purely vegetarian offerings, offerings that are acquired without pain & suffering on the part of any creature. So, we have to strictly avoid cooking any meat, including chicken, bird, fish, eggs, etc.
5. One cannot offer any onions, garlic or mushrooms to the Deities. This may seem like an odd prohibition; but the Vedic scriptures, as well as the ancient medicinal system of Ayurveda, explain that these foods excite the more passionate elements (रजस्) to the human, physically & psychologically.
6. One must not smell the food before it is offered to Deity. When one smells the food before offering it to the Deities, the food becomes left as remainder (उच्छिष्टम्). This is the reason one should not smell it before offering it to the Deities.
7. One must not taste the food before it is offered to the Deity. The goal is to prepare delicious foods, not with our own satisfaction in mind, but thinking only of the satisfaction of the Deity. Therefore, He should be the first to taste the fruits of our labours. This is also one of the most important rules.
8. We should always put one spoon full of clarified butter (cow's ghee) on the rice before offering it to the Deities, as we cannot offer dry rice to the Deities.
If we can follow all of the above guidelines & most importantly, maintain a meditative consciousness of love & devotion to the Deity while performing these activities, then the Deity will gladly accept our offering.
Does the Deity really eat the food (नैवेद्यम्) we offer?
Generally, many people have this question that, does the Deities really eats the food we offer? If no, then why we are offering it to the Deities & if yes, then why the portion of the food does not get missing? Let me clear these questions.
Deity is perfect & complete. He doesn't need anything. In-fact, everything happens in this universe is His own will. He does not want food from us as, He is the one who is providing food to us. He is not hungry nor does He want anything from anyone, as He is free from every desire. So, the Deities does not eat the food we offer (नैवेद्यम्).
I would like to give a simple example to make this simpler. Why we offer flowers to our loved ones? They don't need flowers, flowers will not be useful to them in any way except the good smell which will soon fade away, still we offer flowers, why? That is the gesture of showing our love & care. In the same way offering the food to the Deities is, the gesture of love & care. Its showing gratitude towards the Deities for the food we get. We prepare the food with utmost dedication & devotion towards the Deity. He does not eat food; He eats it through us. He is inside us, which our Scriptures always narrated "परस्पर देवो भव।", which means "be Gods mutually or regard each other as Divine being" i.e. Everyone has the Deity within.
Deities only looks at the food we offer to them. It is said in Sanskrit that, "दृष्टि पूतं न्यसेत्।" which means, "sanctified by the sight of the Deities". Only through the sight of the Deities, the food becomes auspicious, pure & blessed. And in a way, we take permission from the Deity before eating it, as the whole universe is His creation & taking anything without His permission is said to be the stolen. This is the reason we offer food to the Deities.
वैशाखः कृष्ण पक्ष ११, २०७६