Lord Jagannath Temple Puri’s dried rice Mahaprasad is known as Nirmalya. Cooked Mahaprasad can only be kept for one day in the finest of conditions. Nirmalya can be kept for several days in the refrigerator. When the cooked rice Mahaprasad stock is not used for the day, it is brought to a spot named ‘Nirmalya Khala’ in the temple garden of Koili Baikuntha and dried in the blazing sun. The dried form of rice is known as Nirmalya and is distributed to devotees in red fabric pockets once it has dried fully. ‘Kaibalya’ is another name for this.
Earlier, Nirmalya referred to seven substances, namely,
- Mahaprasad.
- Mailamful.
- Shirikpada.
- Sushka Nirmalya.
- Gauri Sauribet.
- Jagannath Pati.
- Sardisirapa.
The seven items were sold to Anand Bazaar by Supkar, Puspalak, Daita, Tilakmatia, Parikh, Chitrakar and Changdamekap, respectively.
How nirmalya is made?
The food Mahaprasad found in the temple cannot be stored for a long time, so devotees complete their work using Nirmalya (dried food Mahaprasad). There is a perception in the minds of the people that the food served daily in front of the Ratnasinghasa is accepted as Nirmalya after it has dried up, but in fact the kitchen of Srimandir has a special cooking system for Nirmalya and Nirmalya is prepared in a special way.
The Nirmalya Mahal is one of the many ways in which the temple has to increase its income. The Nirmalya Mahal of the temple is auctioned once a year. The auctioneer has the right to cook, dry and sell Nirmalya. Five to six quintals of rice per month is used to cook Nirmalya.
Types of Kudua used.
There are special “suar “among the services for cooking Nirmalya. They cook for the Nirmalya in certain food stoves in the kitchen of the temple. There are two types of Kudua are used in Nirmalya preparation one is Math Kudua and Baihandi . Math Kudia are used to cook pure food. After the Nirmalya food is lowered from the jar and the page is rolled up, the Baihandi is poured. The nirmalya food is also offered while offering in front of the three deities. The dried nirmalya food is taken to the nirmalya threshing floor on the south side of the temple to dry. Once it has dried, it is re-packaged and taken to the store. Pudia is made with small clothers for nirmalya. The pudia is usually made of fresh red and yellow clothes.
The Nirmalya Mahal auctioneer sells Nirmalya at a shop on the north side of the Lion Gate. Along with this shop, Nirmalya is also sold in many large shops.
Read also…
- Chappan Bhog.
- Harishankar peeth.
- Suryanamaskar mantra.
- Offering Water to God.
- Benefit of Chanting Mantras 108 times.
- Who will be the father.
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