Online sale of Puri temple’s ‘Mahaprasad’ rejected

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has rejected the proposal made by some organisations for sale of Puri Jagannath temple’s ‘Mahaprasad’ on online platform, State Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan said.

Speaking to reporters here on Monday, Harichandan said some organisations recently requested the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) to deliver ‘Mahaprasad’ and ‘dry prasad’ of the Puri temple to devotees through online platforms. “Though it was a good idea to provide the ‘prasad’ to devotees worldwide, the government and SJTA rejected the proposal to preserve the sanctity of the holy offering,” he said.

“We have doubts about whether the sanctity of ‘Mahaprasad’ can be maintained if it is transported and delivered in this manner,” he said. Harichandan said the government does not support or promote any such initiative. “Neither do we have any such proposal, nor will we promote anyone to sell Mahaprasad online,” he asserted.

The Law Minister appealed to devotees to visit Puri Jagannath temple to have ‘Mahaprasad.’ He said a revised rate chart for the ‘Mahaprasad’ will be implemented soon. The minister’s statement comes in the wake of media reports alleging unauthorised online sale of the ‘Mahaprasad’ of Lord Jagannath.