An Offering to the Goddess

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An Offering to the Goddess

April 20, 2008

Deepa Krishnan

Desicritics

 

See the link for photos to accompany this story:

http://desicritics.org/2008/04/20/093503.php

 

In the little lane behind the Mumbadevi temple [in

Mumbai], doodh pedhas [milk sweets] are still made the old

fashioned way.

 

Milk is mixed with sugar, heated and stirred constantly,

until it thickens and acquires the colour of a creamy latte.

 

It is then hand-rolled into little offerings for the Goddess

Mumba. Not that she hangs on to them permanently - she

merely blesses them, and the priest at the temple hands them

right back to you as holy prasad.

 

Prasad or prasadam is a Sanskrit word which refers to any

material substance that is first offered to the deity, and then

consumed (usually fruits, sweets, flowers). The process of

offering is called naivedya. Once accepted, when the prasad

is returned to the devotee, it has the deity's blessing residing

within it. So every temple visit usually has a two-way

transaction in it...you offer something to the Gods, and you

get it back enriched with blessings. What's more, when you

go back home, you also get to share it with friends and

family.

 

In the early Rig Vedic texts, though, prasad was something

else altogether. It was originally a sort of inner mental state

experienced by the Gods, or by wise sages, characterised by

a spontaneous generosity and a bestowing of boons. The

morphing of this mental state into a material substance

appeared only in later texts. Perhaps devotees needed

something concrete to take back from the daily ritual of

prayer at the temple. Or perhaps this very pragmatic religion

understood that religion should nourish not just the soul but

also the body! Personally, I like to think that the ancients

discovered guilt-free eating many years ago, and

institutionalised it into edible prasad. At the Mumbadevi

temple, you get to take prasad home and eat it happily, safe

in the knowledge that you're acquiring merit with every

calorie!

 

Coming back to the pedha - to me, the doodh pedha has

always been a very comforting sort of sweet. Perhaps it is

the simplicity of the whole thing - just milk and sugar,

really, stirred patiently for hours. The texture is not too

grainy, and not too soft. It is a perfectly balanced fudgy

smoothness that melts when you bite into it.

 

Some pedhas have dry fruits and spices for flavouring.

Cardamom is popular, so is saffron (kesar peda). But

honestly, I like my pedhas simple. Milk and Sugar. That's

all I need. Why mess with something that works so well?

 

If you go on the Mumbai Magic bazaar walk, make a pedha

offering to the Goddess, and tell me if you like your prasad

plain or flavoured!