No need of GI tag for ‘Mahaprasad’: Odisha minister

Bhubaneswar: ‘Mahaprasad’ of Lord Jagannath at centuries old temple in Puri does not require the Geographical Indication (GI) status, Odisha Law Minister Pratap Jena told the House.

Replying to a query by MLA Priyadarshi Mishra in the Assembly on Thursday, Minister Pratap Jena said that the Prasad offered to Lord Jagannath is called ‘Mahaprasad’ and Srimandir is the abode of Lord Jagannath.

As the practice and belief have been continuing since the ancient ages, there is no need of GI tag for Mahaprasad, which belongs to only Lord Jagannath and Srimandir, Jena said.

Bhubaneswar (north) MLA Priyadarshi Mishra had asked, what are the initiatives the government is taking to get GI status for ‘Mahaprasad’ of Lord Jagannath to avoid the circumstances so that no other state can claim it as their own?

In a reply the minister said 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 prasad is called ‘Mahaprasad’. There is no such description about ‘prasad’ of other temples in the ancient scriptures. Since ‘Mahaprasad’ is only available at Jagannath Temple in Puri, the question does not arise to grant GI tag to any other state for Mahaprasad, Jena said.