Practice
Prasādam: sanctified food
Prasādam means “mercy”. It is vegetarian food cooked for Krishna and offered to Him before it is eaten. For a Vaishnava, cooking and eating are part of spiritual practice.
Why food is offered
In the Bhagavad-gītā, Krishna says that He accepts what is offered to Him with love:
If someone offers Me with love a leaf, a flower, a fruit or a little water, I accept it.
Bhagavad-gītā 9.26 (free rendering)
That is where the custom comes from. A devotee does not cook for themselves: they cook for Krishna, offer it to Him and then take what remains as a gift. That change of intention transforms the act. Eating is no longer just feeding yourself; it becomes remembering God three times a day.
What is cooked and what is not
Vaishnava cooking is lacto-vegetarian: grains, pulses, vegetables, fruit, nuts and dairy. Anything that involves violence is avoided, as is anything that, according to the tradition, clouds the mind.
| Used | Not used |
|---|---|
| Rice, wheat, pulses | Meat, fish and seafood |
| Fresh vegetables and fruit | Eggs |
| Milk, yoghurt, clarified butter (ghī) | Onion and garlic |
| Spices: cumin, turmeric, ginger, asafoetida | Alcohol, even for cooking |
Asafoetida (hing) is a strong-tasting resin that in this cuisine takes the place of onion and garlic.
How it is cooked
- Cleanly: the kitchen, the utensils and the cook.
- Thinking of Krishna: many devotees cook while listening to kīrtan.
- Without tasting the food. He should be the first to taste it. You cook by eye and by experience.
How to offer it at home
- Serve a portion of each dish on a plate and in a cup used only for this.
- Place it before the altar, or before a picture of Krishna.
- Recite the offering prayers, three times each. You will find them with their translation in Mantras and prayers.
- Leave the offering for a few minutes.
- Remove the plate, return the food to the serving dishes and serve. It is now prasādam.
If you are just starting and have no altar and don’t know the prayers, it is enough to pause for a moment before eating and offer it in your own words.
Dishes you will taste at a temple
- Dāl: a thick, spiced lentil soup.
- Sabjī: stewed vegetables.
- Kicharī: rice and lentils cooked together, simple and comforting.
- Chapātī and purī: flatbreads, griddled or fried.
- Halavā: a sweet of toasted semolina with butter.
- Sweet rice: rice slowly cooked in milk, like rice pudding.
Almost every temple offers a feast open to everyone at the end of the Sunday programme.
Frequently asked questions
Why no onion or garlic?
The tradition classifies foods by their effect on the mind. Onion and garlic are considered stimulants that agitate or dull it, so they are not offered to Krishna.
Are devotees vegan?
Not necessarily. The traditional diet includes dairy, because the cow is an animal very dear to Krishna and is protected, not killed. Many devotees try to make sure their milk comes from well-treated cows, and some choose not to take it.
What is eaten on Ekadashi?
On that day grains and pulses are avoided. People eat fruit, vegetables, nuts, dairy and flours that do not come from grains. Some fast completely.
What is Food for Life?
It is the free vegetarian food distribution programme that devotees of Krishna run in many countries. It began in the seventies from Prabhupāda’s wish that nobody within reach of a temple should go hungry.