PRA SA DA. SANSK. PragadilaM. Prasada, in the Vaishnava sect of Hindu religion, is an article of food, consecrated by previous presenta tion to an idol, after which it is distributed amongst the worshippers on the spot, or sent to persons of consequence at their own homes. It was the prasada or meat offered to idols from which, in Acts xv. 29, the followers of Jesus Christ were told to abstain. Yet 1 Corinthians x. 25 says, Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, that eat, asking no question for conscience sake.' In Orissa, the people buy the boiled rice which has been offered to Jaganath, and all the different castes eat of it together, as an act of merit ; the Fame conduct in Bengal would make them out-castes. The Buddhists of Burma also throw away the offerings ; and at the great Shooay-Dagon at Rangoon and the Prome temple, Shooay-San Dau, vast heaps of boiled rice are thrown over on the rocks. But most Hindus eagerly seek whatever has been offered to an idol ; hence it is common to see flowers which have been thus offered, placed in the hair of a Hindu. Water that has been thus made sacred is preserved in Hindu houses, and with it they rub their bodies, and occasionally sip a drop. The celebrated Goguet has remarked that the custom of offering food to the object of divine homage had its origin in a principle of gratitude, the repast being deemed hallowed by presenting the first portion to him who gave it, since the devotee was unable to conceive aught more acceptable than that whereby life is sustained. From the earliest period such offerings have been tendered; and in the burnt offering (horn) of Abel of the firstling of the flock, and the first portion of the repast presented by the Rajput to Ana Deva, the nourisher, the motive is the same. The Mukhia servants of the temple of Kaniya carry the sacred food to where soever the votaries dwell, which produces an ample return. At the same time are transmitted, as from the god, dresses of honour corresponding in material and value with the rank of the re ceiver, a diadem or fillet of satin and gold, em broidered; a dagla or quilted coat of gold or silver brocade for the cold weather ; a scarf of blue and gold ; or, if to one who prizes the gift less for its intrinsic worth than as a mark of special favour, a fragment of the garland worn on some festival by the god ; or a simple necklace, by which he is inaugurated amongst the elect.
Kaniya Id kanti band' hna, to bind on the neck the chaplet of Kaniya,' is the initiatory step. At the present day, Christians of no sect make any food-offerings to images. The Hebrew races, how ever, as also the Muhammadans, only partake of the flesh of such animals as have been made lawful food by being prayed over before being killed. This is called amongst Muhainmans Halal kerns, to make lawful, and a Muhrunmadan recites the words Bismillahi, Allaho-Akbar. Otherwise, it is harem, unlawful. In the name of the Lord, to God, the great. In the butcher shops of the towns of Europe where the Hebrew races reside, a mark is put on the animals which have been made lawful for food. When the animal is slaughtered rind skinned, an examiner appointed by the synagogue carefully inspects the inside; and meat that has been killed acconling to the Jewish law, and is Ian ful to Cat, is distiuguisted by a leaden seal, stamped in Hebrew characters with the name of the examiner, and the word Kosher, meaning lawful. That killed in any other fashion is called 'tryfer.' The Hebrew Scriptures three times command, 'Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk' (Exodus xxiii. 19, and xxxiv. 2G ; and Deuteronomy xiv. 21). The utmost care has been used in carrying out both the letter and the spirit of this injunction, and particular vessels used for dressing flesh and others for milk, awl a complete separation required for dishes, plates, Wye*, forks, and so forth. No vessels of wood or earth may be purchased at second-hand, and those of metal or stone have to be well scoured with hot ashes or scalded in boiling water before it was considered proper to employ them in the prepara tion of food. The Hindu races arc even more stringent than the Hebrew, and many of the Vaishnava sect do not allow a stranger to ace the cooking. Numerous others do not permit any one to see them eating.— Tod's Rajasthan, i. p. 529.