The Mahaprasad of the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri does not require Geographical Indication (GI) status, law and Health and Family Welfare Minister Pratap Jena has informed the State Assembly.
Replying to a query by BJD MlA Priyadarshi Mishra on Thursday, the Minister said that the offering made to lord Jagannath is called ‘Mahaprasad’. As the practice and belief have been continuing since ages, there is no need of a GI tag for Mahaprasad, which belongs to only lord Jagannath and the Shreemandir, Jena said.
MlA Mishra had asked whether the Odisha Government is taking any initiative to get GI status for Mahaprasad to avoid a situation in which another State can claim it as its own.
The minister replied that the significance of Mahaprasad in Purushottam Kshetra (Puri) is described in Skanda Purana and other holy scriptures.
Apart from Puri, there is no other temple of lord Vishnu across the country where the offering is called ‘Mahaprasad’. There is no such description about the Prasad of any other temple in ancient scriptures. Since Mahaprasad is only available at the Jagannath Temple in Puri, the question does not arise to grant GI tag to any other State for Mahaprasad, Jena said.