About Food
Forbidden foods:
Fish, meat, wine, onions, garlic, masur dhal, burned rice. radish, white eggplant, hemp, citron and saps from trees, buffalo and goat‑milk products.
mahisam varjayen mahyam ksiram dadhi ghrtam yadi
Buffalo milk, yoghurt and ghee should not be offered to me.
Varaha Purana
alabur vartulakara vartaki dugdha varnika
dugdhe ca lavanam dattva sadyo gomamsa bhaksanam
Round alabu, white eggplant and milk with salt in it should be rejected as if they were cow meat.
yatra madyam tatha mamsam tatha vrntaka mulake
nivedayen naiva tatra harer aikantiki ratih
Where liquor, meat, eggplant and radish are offered, loving devotion to the Lord does not reside.
Yamala Vacanam
Vinegar is not good; it is tamasic, in the darkness, nasty food.
letter from Srila Prabhupada,
Mar.24, 1969
Ice cream purchased from the market may not be offered.
letter from Srila Prabhupada
Oct.21, 1968, Seattle
Frozen foods,...are not bad, but if they are twice‑ boiled, they should not be used.
letter from Srila Prabhupada
July 5, 1968, Los Angeles
Unpolished rice which looks like brown can be used. We do not mind polished or unpolished but doubly‑boiled (siddha rice) must not be used. Doubly boiled rice is considered impure. Sun baked rice (atapa) is all right.
letter from Srila Prabhupada,
Oct.17, 1967
Soya beans and lentils are unoffereable.
verbal instruction of Srila Prabhupada to Srila Hrdayananda Goswami
Regarding purchasing things in the market, these items are considered as purified when we pay the price for them. That is the general instruction. But when we know something is adulterated, we should avoid it. ...Things that are suspicious should be avoided.
letter from Srila Prabhupada, Oct 21, l968
Offerable foods:
Vilva, amlaki, jujub, dates, coconut, jack fruit, grapes, tal fruit, lotus root, leaf vegetables, cow milk products, items made from grains, ghee and sugar.
Rice, barley, wheat sesame, mung, urad should be offered with ghee. Rice without ghee is considered asuric. The Lord is pleased by items made of ghee sugar, yoghurt, chick peas, dhals, guda, honey, by soups, varieties of cakes, and items which can be licked, chewed, sucked or drunk.
They offered pungent preparations made with black pepper, sweet and sour preparations, ginger, salty preparations, limes, milk, yogurt, cheese, two or four kinds of spinach, soup made with bitter melon, eggplant mixed with nimba flowers (bitter), and fried patola.
CC Antya v.3.p.261
Foodstuffs in the modes of goodness are wheat , rice, pulse (beans and peas), sugar, honey, butter and all milk preparations, vegetables, flowers, fruits, grains. So these foods can be offered in any shape, but prepared in various ways by the intelligence of the devotees.
letter from Srila Prabhupada
Nov.13, 1968, Los Angeles
If chocolate is not an intoxicant, it can be offered to the deities.
letter from Srila Prabhupada,
June 8, 1975
Sugar cane juice, yogurt drinks, sweetened lemon water, water flavored with cinamon, camphor or cardamom, fruit drinks of various scents and colors may be offered.
Permissible foods which are considered delicacies by the local people or are preferred by ones family and oneself should be offered.
Permissible foods which are without taste, not tasty, inedible, impure for any reason, or eaten by insects, animals, or people should not be offered.
If variety of items is unavailable, fruit alone is sufficient. If fruit is unavailable edible herbs may be offered. If herbs are unavailable, pure water may be offered, meditating upon the items. If water is unavailable the items should be offered in the mind.
Preparation:
Just as one must select pure, excellent foods to offer to Krsna, so also one must prepare them purely. Thus usually only a vaisnava is allowed in the kitchen:
avaisnavanam annam ca patitanam tathaiva ca
anarpitam tatha visnau sva mamsa sadrsam bhavet
Food (especially grains) which are cooked by non vaisnavas, by sinful people, or which has not been offered to Visnu, is the same as dog meat.
Everything should be very respectfully and cleanly presented and prepared. In Jagannatha Puri, the Lord eats 56 times. So the Lord can eat as many times as you can offer. But the only thing is, whatever is offered must be with respect and devotion.
letter from Srila Prabhupada,
Montreal June 16, 1968
As far as possible we should not offer to the deity things which are prepared by non‑devotees. We can accept from them raw fruits, grains or similar raw things. Cooking and preparing should be strictly limited to the initiated devotees.
letter from Srila Prabhupada,
Oct.21, 1968, Seattle
As far as possible non‑initiated devotees may not enter the kitchen or deity area. They can help from outside. Just take care of them so that they may become pure devotees.
letter from Srila Prabhupada,
April 4, 1971
Unless one is initiated he cannot cook. One must be regular disciple then he can do deity worship. There is no question of the outsiders cooking in the New Delhi temple.
letter from srila Prabhupada,
Gopal Krsna das, July 11, 1976
In the kitchen you should always see that nothing is wasted.
letter from Srila Prabhupada,
Upendra das, Nov.10, 1975
If in the cooking process food falls on the floor, if it is raw and can be washed nicely, then it can be offered. But if it is prepared and cannot be washed, then it is not to be offered, but can be eaten rather than be wasted.
letter from Srila Prabhupada,
Dec.25, 969
.Food which has been offered should never be put back into
The refrigerator with unoffered foods, or brought back into the kitchen. ...Refrigerator should always be very clean and pure. ....If there is any food extra, that should be kept separately, not within the kitchen.... ...No one should wear shoes within the kitchen. There is ample place to eat so why should one eat in the kitchen? Kitchen should be considered as the Lord's room.... Smelling and tasting of foods being prepared for the Lord should never be done. Talking within the kitchen should be only what is necessary for preparing the prasadam or about the Lord. Dirty dishes should not be brought back into the kitchen but if there is no other place to wash them, then they should be put into the sink and washed immediately). Hands should always be washed when preparing prasadam. Nothing should be eaten before offering to the Lord. In this way everything shall be prepared very cleanly and purely.
What is the difficulty of enforcing these rules? They are rules, and they are simple rules, and must be followed. One must be prepared to follow the rules for Krsna. Otherwise where is the proof that he loves Krsna.
letter from Srila Prabhupada
June 16, 1968, Montreal
It is advisable that food being offered to the Deity be covered when take from the kitchen to the deity room, In that way others may not see. Those who are not accustomed to following the advanced regulative devotional principles may desire to eat the food and that is an offense.
CC madhya ch. 4.p.63
Method of Offering:
The principle behind service to Krsna is to approach through the spiritual master, for then there is no possibility of committing offense to Krsna. For this reason worship of guru is performed before worshipping Krsna in daily puja. The safest method of worship is to give everything to the spiritual master to offer on our behalf. Thus, in offering bhoga to the Lord the simplest method is to offer it to the spiritual master and request him to offer it to the Lord. Since one must approach Radha and Krsna through Lord Caitanya, the offering may goes through Lord Caitanya to Radha and Krsna. Simply by chanting the prayer to the spiritual master everything will be complete.
letter from Srila Prabhupada,
May 1965 Berkeley
The custom is to offer the foodstuff first to the spiritual master. We cannot do anything directly. The spiritual master accepts the offering on behalf of his disciple and offers the same to Krsna. After Krsna's eating, the spiritual master eats it, and then the devotees take it as mahaprasad. This is the system. Everything is offered to the spiritual master first, with the prayer "nama om visnupadaya...."
letterfromSrila Prabhupada,
Jadurani, Feb.15, 1968
You may say the prayer to the spiritual master three times,,, and also after offering to spiritual master, offer to Lord Caitanya by saying the prayer "namo maha vadanyaya..." three times and then offer to Krsna thrice (namo brahmanya devaya).
letter from Srila Prabhupada,
Mar 22, 1968
Whatever is offered to the deity actually goes through the spiritual master. The spiritual master offers to Lord Caitanya, and Lord Caitanya offers it to Krsna. Then Radha Krsna eat or Jagannatha eats, then Caitanya Mahaprabhu eats, then the spiritual master eats, and it becomes mahaprasadam. So when you offer something, you think like that and chant the gayatri mantra and then everything is complete. At last, ring the bell,take out the plate and wipe the place where the plate was kept.
letter form Srila Prabhupada,
New Vrndavana, June 16, 1969
Fish, meat, wine, onions, garlic, masur dhal, burned rice. radish, white eggplant, hemp, citron and saps from trees, buffalo and goat‑milk products.
mahisam varjayen mahyam ksiram dadhi ghrtam yadi
Buffalo milk, yoghurt and ghee should not be offered to me.
Varaha Purana
alabur vartulakara vartaki dugdha varnika
dugdhe ca lavanam dattva sadyo gomamsa bhaksanam
Round alabu, white eggplant and milk with salt in it should be rejected as if they were cow meat.
yatra madyam tatha mamsam tatha vrntaka mulake
nivedayen naiva tatra harer aikantiki ratih
Where liquor, meat, eggplant and radish are offered, loving devotion to the Lord does not reside.
Yamala Vacanam
Vinegar is not good; it is tamasic, in the darkness, nasty food.
letter from Srila Prabhupada,
Mar.24, 1969
Ice cream purchased from the market may not be offered.
letter from Srila Prabhupada
Oct.21, 1968, Seattle
Frozen foods,...are not bad, but if they are twice‑ boiled, they should not be used.
letter from Srila Prabhupada
July 5, 1968, Los Angeles
Unpolished rice which looks like brown can be used. We do not mind polished or unpolished but doubly‑boiled (siddha rice) must not be used. Doubly boiled rice is considered impure. Sun baked rice (atapa) is all right.
letter from Srila Prabhupada,
Oct.17, 1967
Soya beans and lentils are unoffereable.
verbal instruction of Srila Prabhupada to Srila Hrdayananda Goswami
Regarding purchasing things in the market, these items are considered as purified when we pay the price for them. That is the general instruction. But when we know something is adulterated, we should avoid it. ...Things that are suspicious should be avoided.
letter from Srila Prabhupada, Oct 21, l968
Offerable foods:
Vilva, amlaki, jujub, dates, coconut, jack fruit, grapes, tal fruit, lotus root, leaf vegetables, cow milk products, items made from grains, ghee and sugar.
Rice, barley, wheat sesame, mung, urad should be offered with ghee. Rice without ghee is considered asuric. The Lord is pleased by items made of ghee sugar, yoghurt, chick peas, dhals, guda, honey, by soups, varieties of cakes, and items which can be licked, chewed, sucked or drunk.
They offered pungent preparations made with black pepper, sweet and sour preparations, ginger, salty preparations, limes, milk, yogurt, cheese, two or four kinds of spinach, soup made with bitter melon, eggplant mixed with nimba flowers (bitter), and fried patola.
CC Antya v.3.p.261
Foodstuffs in the modes of goodness are wheat , rice, pulse (beans and peas), sugar, honey, butter and all milk preparations, vegetables, flowers, fruits, grains. So these foods can be offered in any shape, but prepared in various ways by the intelligence of the devotees.
letter from Srila Prabhupada
Nov.13, 1968, Los Angeles
If chocolate is not an intoxicant, it can be offered to the deities.
letter from Srila Prabhupada,
June 8, 1975
Sugar cane juice, yogurt drinks, sweetened lemon water, water flavored with cinamon, camphor or cardamom, fruit drinks of various scents and colors may be offered.
Permissible foods which are considered delicacies by the local people or are preferred by ones family and oneself should be offered.
Permissible foods which are without taste, not tasty, inedible, impure for any reason, or eaten by insects, animals, or people should not be offered.
If variety of items is unavailable, fruit alone is sufficient. If fruit is unavailable edible herbs may be offered. If herbs are unavailable, pure water may be offered, meditating upon the items. If water is unavailable the items should be offered in the mind.
Preparation:
Just as one must select pure, excellent foods to offer to Krsna, so also one must prepare them purely. Thus usually only a vaisnava is allowed in the kitchen:
avaisnavanam annam ca patitanam tathaiva ca
anarpitam tatha visnau sva mamsa sadrsam bhavet
Food (especially grains) which are cooked by non vaisnavas, by sinful people, or which has not been offered to Visnu, is the same as dog meat.
Everything should be very respectfully and cleanly presented and prepared. In Jagannatha Puri, the Lord eats 56 times. So the Lord can eat as many times as you can offer. But the only thing is, whatever is offered must be with respect and devotion.
letter from Srila Prabhupada,
Montreal June 16, 1968
As far as possible we should not offer to the deity things which are prepared by non‑devotees. We can accept from them raw fruits, grains or similar raw things. Cooking and preparing should be strictly limited to the initiated devotees.
letter from Srila Prabhupada,
Oct.21, 1968, Seattle
As far as possible non‑initiated devotees may not enter the kitchen or deity area. They can help from outside. Just take care of them so that they may become pure devotees.
letter from Srila Prabhupada,
April 4, 1971
Unless one is initiated he cannot cook. One must be regular disciple then he can do deity worship. There is no question of the outsiders cooking in the New Delhi temple.
letter from srila Prabhupada,
Gopal Krsna das, July 11, 1976
In the kitchen you should always see that nothing is wasted.
letter from Srila Prabhupada,
Upendra das, Nov.10, 1975
If in the cooking process food falls on the floor, if it is raw and can be washed nicely, then it can be offered. But if it is prepared and cannot be washed, then it is not to be offered, but can be eaten rather than be wasted.
letter from Srila Prabhupada,
Dec.25, 969
.Food which has been offered should never be put back into
The refrigerator with unoffered foods, or brought back into the kitchen. ...Refrigerator should always be very clean and pure. ....If there is any food extra, that should be kept separately, not within the kitchen.... ...No one should wear shoes within the kitchen. There is ample place to eat so why should one eat in the kitchen? Kitchen should be considered as the Lord's room.... Smelling and tasting of foods being prepared for the Lord should never be done. Talking within the kitchen should be only what is necessary for preparing the prasadam or about the Lord. Dirty dishes should not be brought back into the kitchen but if there is no other place to wash them, then they should be put into the sink and washed immediately). Hands should always be washed when preparing prasadam. Nothing should be eaten before offering to the Lord. In this way everything shall be prepared very cleanly and purely.
What is the difficulty of enforcing these rules? They are rules, and they are simple rules, and must be followed. One must be prepared to follow the rules for Krsna. Otherwise where is the proof that he loves Krsna.
letter from Srila Prabhupada
June 16, 1968, Montreal
It is advisable that food being offered to the Deity be covered when take from the kitchen to the deity room, In that way others may not see. Those who are not accustomed to following the advanced regulative devotional principles may desire to eat the food and that is an offense.
CC madhya ch. 4.p.63
Method of Offering:
The principle behind service to Krsna is to approach through the spiritual master, for then there is no possibility of committing offense to Krsna. For this reason worship of guru is performed before worshipping Krsna in daily puja. The safest method of worship is to give everything to the spiritual master to offer on our behalf. Thus, in offering bhoga to the Lord the simplest method is to offer it to the spiritual master and request him to offer it to the Lord. Since one must approach Radha and Krsna through Lord Caitanya, the offering may goes through Lord Caitanya to Radha and Krsna. Simply by chanting the prayer to the spiritual master everything will be complete.
letter from Srila Prabhupada,
May 1965 Berkeley
The custom is to offer the foodstuff first to the spiritual master. We cannot do anything directly. The spiritual master accepts the offering on behalf of his disciple and offers the same to Krsna. After Krsna's eating, the spiritual master eats it, and then the devotees take it as mahaprasad. This is the system. Everything is offered to the spiritual master first, with the prayer "nama om visnupadaya...."
letterfromSrila Prabhupada,
Jadurani, Feb.15, 1968
You may say the prayer to the spiritual master three times,,, and also after offering to spiritual master, offer to Lord Caitanya by saying the prayer "namo maha vadanyaya..." three times and then offer to Krsna thrice (namo brahmanya devaya).
letter from Srila Prabhupada,
Mar 22, 1968
Whatever is offered to the deity actually goes through the spiritual master. The spiritual master offers to Lord Caitanya, and Lord Caitanya offers it to Krsna. Then Radha Krsna eat or Jagannatha eats, then Caitanya Mahaprabhu eats, then the spiritual master eats, and it becomes mahaprasadam. So when you offer something, you think like that and chant the gayatri mantra and then everything is complete. At last, ring the bell,take out the plate and wipe the place where the plate was kept.
letter form Srila Prabhupada,
New Vrndavana, June 16, 1969
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