Sacred Cooking Science

अथातः संप्रवक्ष्यामि नैवेद्य विधिमुत्तमम्।

भक्त्या वित्तानुसारेण नैवेद्यं तु प्रकल्पयेत्॥ 1

पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं अन्नपानाद्य औषधम्।

अनिवेद्य न भुञ्जीत भगवन्तं सदाशिवम्॥2

athātaḥ sampravaksyāmi naivedya vidhimuttamam||

bhaktyā vittānusāreņa naivedyam tu prakalpayet||

patram pușpam phalam toyam annapānādyam aușadham|

anivedya na bhuñjīta bhagavantam sadāśivam||

Sadashiva said: Now, I will speak on the perfect directions and ritualistic process (vidhi) for the offering of sacred food (naivedya). The devotee should prepare the food with devotion and according to the availability of resources. One should NOT make use of leaves, flowers, fruits, water, foods, drinks and other items, energy herbs (aushadha) and others, without offering them to BHAGAVAN SADASHIVAM1.  

Grains

• Among the grains, rice (tandulam, tuaṇḍula) is the foremost grain.
• Barley, bamboo-rice and others belong to the medium variety.
• All other grains are considered to be inferior to rice.
• All the grains which are white in color are generally known as SHAALAYAH.
• Other grains which are not White, are commonly known as VRIHIS.
• With regard to the fruit offering of these grains, it is known that each grain yields its own benefits.

Types of grains:

Foremost quality grains: These are the grains belonging to the foremost quality.

1. Hemashaali - Golden rice
2. Mahaashaali - Large rice
3. Ratnashaali - Jewel like rice (smaller size)
4. Sitashaali - Whitish or silver rice
5. Atirakta (Shaali) - Very red rice.
6. Saugandhi Shaali - fragrant sweet scented rice

Medium quality grains:

• Vainava, Madhuri, Kusumbera, Nivara and the remaining grains belong to the medium variety.

Least quality grains:

• Bidala Vrihi, a grain which is slightly black and which has growth-duration of 60 days - SUKARI, VRIHI, HRASVA-VAKTRI - these grains belong to the common and least variety. 

Fruits (results) of offering this naivedya:

These grains are the best for preparation of naivedya to be offered to the supreme lord, prabhu.

He who offers such naivedya to sadashiva, would be much praised and celebrated in shiva loka, the abode of shiva for the duration of 1000 years multiplied by the total number of grains contained in the naivedyam.

Naivedyam, sacred food offerings to the deity - both sakala, sachala murti:

1. Naivedyam is of 3 kinds:

• Daily (nitya)
• Occasional (naimittika)
• Optional as per desire (Kaamya)
• In the system of worship associated with 8 aspects, Naivedya should be prepared with 4, 3, 2, 1, Siva, or adhaka of rice.

2. For the images associated with the visible features of the form, i.e. Sakal Murti (or Sachala Murti), Naivedya should be with a measure greater than 2 Prasthas.

3.  Vessels (paatram):

• The vessels made of Gold (suvarna), Bronze (āra) or copper (taamra) etc, may be made of a metal known as Sudhha laya. Or, Earthen vessels (bhaandakam) may be made to be used in each juncture. Earthen vessels can be used for 15 to 30 days only.

4. Cooking standards:

• Bathing: The serving devotees called Parichaarakas should first take the ceremonial bath according to the directions set forth earlier.
• Clothing (vastra):

• They should attire themselves with Pure white Clothes (sukla vastra) and wear the pure white sacred thread (sukla yajnopavita).
• Wearing the 'Pavitra' (darbha-ring), they should cook the Caru (any food oblation of rice, barley and pulse boiled with butter and milk) in the usual systematic way.

• Vessel (paatram):

• Purification of Vessel: One should fill the water-vessel (Jala droni) with the water filtered with clean cloth.
• Then, having purified the vessel (paatram), he should wash the rice-grains, reciting the HRUDAYA MANTRA.
• Then, he should pour the grains into water kept in the cooking vessel. Having known the exact quantity of water as guided by experience and through reasoning, he should pour the water into the vessel  or he may pour the water whose measure may be alone One and a half times greater than the measure of grains.
• Having meditated the form of STHAALIM VESSEL kept in the middle, he should bind the darbhas around the neck of the sthali-vessel.

5. Kitchen (mahaanasa)

• The interior ground of the kitchen should be smeared with Gomaaya (cow-dung) and be sprinkled with consecrated water and the cook should worship the Hearth, which is provided with 2 projections on the top representing dharma and adharma, with rice-grains reciting the HRUDAYA MANTRA.
• Then, having lifted the firewoods reciting the VAMADEVA MANTRA, one should place them inside the firewood with the recital of the ASTRA MANTRA.
• What to avoid:

• not kindle the fire with the woods which are damaged by the ants, which are associated with hollows and worms, and which are spoiled with sparks of fire.
• Food associated with - smoky fragrance, which has become pulpy, which is over-boiled and reduced to pap, which has become cool, impaired by hair, insects and old, stale should be abandoned.

6. Recipe (shuddha paayasa)

Recipe 1 - Payasam

• Milk (kshiram) with a measure equal to twice the measure (dvigunam) of rice (tandula), green (or black) gram (mudgam) in half of the measure of rice, if not available, quarter or half-quarter of this measure should be taken and water should be poured to fill the required level left over by the milk and the gram.
• These should be boiled well and the soup prepared in this way is known as PAAYASA.

Recipe 2 - Gulaanna (with jaggery)

• Having prepared the PAAYASA  as done before, one should add the pieces of organic jaggery (gulaana) equal to four parts of the other ingredients, and add ghee whose measure may be half or quarter of the measure of jaggery.
• These should be cooked well and the pieces of banana fruit should be added.
• This preparation is called 'gulaannam'  (rice mixed with jaggery).

Recipe 3 - Krusaranna (Sesame rice)

• Sesame (tila) with a measure equal to half the measure of rice ( taken already) should be taken. If not available, half or quarter of this measure may be taken.
• The cooked rice mixed with the powdered sesame is said to be Krusaranna (sesame rice).

Recipe 4 - Mudganna (Rice with green gram )

• The cooked rice mixed with the powdered green gram whose measure may be half or quarter of the measure of rice is called MUDGANNA. Or, all these varieties of mixtures may be prepared according to the availability of the needed ingredients.

Recipe 5 - Haridranna (the Anna with turmeric)

• Pepper, turmeric powder, cumin-seeds, mustard - these should be mixed up well and cooked and finally mixed with cooked rice. Such a preparation is called 'Haridranna.'

Appetizing condiments (havish)

Now I will speak about the appetizing condiments and seasoned dishes.

• green gram (mugdam), kidney beans (maasha), horse gram (kulattha), cow peas (nishpaava), toor dal (aadaki), Raajama,   - these should be winnowed well and be made bereft of pods (shimbaa) and broken and empty grains.
• Rajama (a kind of lentil) and Toor dhal should be taken, with chaff (satusham) or without the chaff (vitusham).
• Pumpkin gourd, jackfruit, bottle-gourd, 2 big cucumber (kalinga), bitter cucumber - coloquintida (trapusi), karkari (a kind of brinjal) - these should be taken with or without the covering husk.
• Banana (kadali), assafoetida also black-cumin or fennel (kaaravi), mango (aamram), vyaagrii (kind of brinjal), cucumber (uuvarukam), melon, creepers, roots, bulbous roots and other kinds of roots are recommended substances to prepare appetizing dishes
• For one 'prastha' of cooked rice, there should be one 'pala-measure' of such a dish.

 Seasoned dishes ( upadamsha)

• The varieties of such seasoned dishes should be fresh, clean and pure
• They should be free from all defects
• Should have been cooked with Ghee (ghrit samayuktam).
• Should be mixed up well with scrapings of coconut and other dry fruits.
• Should be seasoned with pepper, cumin seeds (jira),  and such other spices.
• Such UPADAMSHA (seasoned dish) is highly praised for the offerings of Naivedya.
• ADDING: Such dishes should be added sufficiently with SALT (lavanaa) and GHEE (gritam) - seasoned with the tamarind juice (amla), Pepper (maricha), and other spices.
• For each 'prastha' of the cooked item, salt should be with a measure of 20 Palas.

Seasoning measurements

• The measure of pepper (marica) should be 3 parts out of the 4 parts (3/4th or tricatur); that of cooked with ghee or containing ghee (sharpisha), twice (dvigunam) the measure of pepper.
• The pounded beans should be in one part of the 16 parts or one part out of the 32 parts of the measure of Rice (taandulam); OR, this may be equal to or three times excessive of, the measure mentioned before.
• Pepper and other spices well mixed and rendered to be in the form of paste, paste of mustard and other juicy items  should be added with the dishes and boiled well.

Soup/sweet dishes (supam)

Some of the dishes may be mixed with pieces of well-dressed sweet cakes.

• Having kneaded the powder (churnam) of any grain (dhaanya) and pepper (marica), one should mix them well with the dishes, slowly churn the mixture to make it  to be soft and cook it with mild fire.
• After adding sufficient jaggery (gula), pieces of juicy fruit (rasavanti), he should boil the soup.
• One may prepare many varieties of soups through different processes with suitable ingredients.
• Such varieties of soups prepared in this way, should be offered along with the pure cooked rice.

Post-cooking rituals (purification, decoration, presentation, arrangement etc.)

• Sacred sound: One should take out the well-boiled dishes from the Heart with the accompaniment of the sounding of the CONCH; and of the display of honors such as parasol, light and other.
• Cow-dung and decoration: He should arrange the 'dishes' over the ground which has been smeared with cow-dung and decorated with five kinds of powder.
• Sanctifying the food - Pavitra:

• He should do 'tapta -abhigharaa' (dropping of warm ghee) with the rectical of SHIVA MANTRA;
• and, 'sita-abhigharaa' (dropping of normal ghee) with the recital of ANGA-MANTRAS, and offer the oblations of ghee for 3 times.
• One should purify the vessels and smear over them - Three strips of vibhuti (TRIPUNDRAM) mixed with water.
• He should place these vessels over the tripods covered with Pure Clothes, with the ritualistic accompaniment of the divine honors such as Conch-blows, Umbrella (chatra), Dipam (offering light), and others.
• Arrangement of food in the hall

• Having stopped the devotees who have assembled in the surrounding corridors or people's pathways, he should sprinkle the consecrated water over the interior path.
• One should then lift up all the Vessels and arrange them in the frontal hall.
• One should take up the drinkable items in the due order and place them over the Sthali Vessels which have been designed so as to be associated with all the lineaments detailed in the chapters dealing with the tools and utensils;
• OR, one may place them on the purified plantain leafs and such others or on well-designed plates arranged over the pure cloth.

• Presentation:

• First, one should place the cooked rice with the resplendence of the full-moon and do the chanting of the THREE-LETTERED MANTRA preceded by the PRANAVA (AUM).
• One should place all the dishes and sauces (upadamshaani)  over the Naivedya.
• One should place the fresh Ghee (clarified butter), SHARKARA (jaggery), Rasavat Payasam (juicy fruits), BAALA-CUTA-PHALAM (fruit gotten from the tender mango plant), Dadhi (Curds), and other such items.

1. Bhaga Shastra: Mahadeva revealed the secrets of the Bhaga Shastra to his consort Parvati, who in turn revealed it to Nala, the king of Vidarbha. Nala, an expert charioteer and well-known culinary expert is the main protagonist in the ancient romantic tale of Nala-Damayanti, mentioned in the Mahabharata.
2. 1 Padi - 1500 gms or 1.5 kgs approx.
3. 1 Palam - 35 gms approx.
4. 1 R.e (Rupee Equivalent) - 4.8 gms approx.
5. Mahāśāli is as large as the black bean, and when cooked is aromatic and shining, like no other rice at all. It grows only in Māgadha. It is offered to the king or to religious persons of great distinction
6. Śāli (शालि) is a Sanskrit word for a group of species of rice (śāli); a species of plant from the Poaceae/Gramineae (grasses) family. It is also known by its synonyms Dhānya and Vrīhi. The official botanical name is Oryza sativa. Also identified by Caraka in his Carakasaṃhitā sūtrasthāna (chapter 27), a classical Āyurvedic work. Śāli forms a subgroup of the Śūkadhānyavarga collection of medicinal plants, referring to the “group of awned grains''. Caraka defined such groups (vargas) based on the dietetic value of the plant.

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