Tirupati row: Lucknow’s Mankameshwar temple bans market-bought offerings

In the wake of laddu row in Andhra Pradesh’s Balaji Tirupati temple, Lucknow’s Mankameshwar temple has issued an order banning offering prasad bought from market.
The authorities of the state capital’s prominent Lord Shiva temple said only homemade prasad or dry fruits can be offered to the deity inside the “Garbh Grih” (sanctum sanctorum).
“The temple has put up a notice stating about a new rule banning ‘market-bought offerings’ by devotees,” said Ashu Gupta, a devotee who is a regular at the Mankameshwar temple on Mondays.
“The effort is being made that either the homemade prasad will be offered when one brings something made by themselves or when someone brings items using ghee made at home,” said Divya Giri, the first woman Mahant of the temple.
“Mankameshwar temple has called for a ban on outside prasad due to concerns about adulteration, urging devotees to offer only pure home-made prasad or dry fruits,” she said.
Local shopkeepers emphasised their commitment to purity in their offerings and suggested that any doubts about the prasad can be checked by the authorities concerned.
They also requested the administration to support their livelihoods. “The controversy surrounding laddu prasad of Tirupati is very disturbing. To imagine that lard is being used in preparation of laddu prasad is very unfortunate. We are trying to ensure that devotees do not bring prasad from market inside the temple,” Mahant Divya Giri said.
“We handed over a memorandum to the district administration with a request that there should be testing of the prasad being sold outside the temple by local vendors at regular intervals. There is a possibility that prasad being sold in the market may have some element of adulteration,” she said.
“We appeal to all devotees to bring homemade prasad or only dry fruits for offering as is done at Vaishnaodevi temple and cooperate,” Mahant Giri added.
Secretary, Hanuman temple, Aliganj Shri Mahavir Ji Trust, Rajesh Pandey, a retired IPS officer, said he has written a letter to the director, food safety and drug administration department, Lucknow, to carry out quality check of the material of prasad being sold at shops outside Aliganj Hanuman temple.
“I have requested them to send their team to the Hanuman temple in Aliganj and collect samples of prasad from all the shops and check to maintain the sanctity of the prasad,” he added.
Pandey said, “Prasad is made by the temple only on Bada Mangals. Prasad is sold in about 20 shops outside. The food Safety department has been requested to check its quality.”
At Hanuman Setu temple located on the Gomti banks, no order has been issued to ban any kind of prasad. Diwakar Tripathi, secretary of the temple, said, “There is no order to ban prasad made in market. But we do expect devotees to offer only prasad made of pure ghee.”