Tirupati Laddu Row: Cardamom, mishri be offered as prasad instead of prepared delicacies to avoid adulteration

The Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad on Tuesday said mishri (sugar crystals), cardamom seeds and dry fruits offered traditionally to the Hindu deities as 'bhog' should be distributed among devotees as prasad at temples instead of prepared delicacies such as laddu to prevent adulteration.

The statement by the seers' body comes amid the outrage over alleged adulteration of the laddu prasad offered to devotees in Andhra Pradesh's Tirupati Balaji Temple.

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This system of prasad should be operational in all temples across the country until the government and the management of temples guarantee the purity of ghee used to prepare prasad, said Mahant Ravindra Puri, president of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad, an important body of seers.

"Items like rock sugar, cardamom and dry fruits are traditionally offered as Bhog to Hindu deities. Their distribution as prasad will leave no room for adulteration," he said.

Expressing his disgust at the adulteration of 'prasadam' at the Tirupati Balaji Temple, Puri said it had hurt the sentiments of Hindus all over the world.

He suggested that Hindus feeling guilty about having eaten adulterated prasad unknowingly at Tirupati Balaji can purify their system by consuming Ganga jal or Gomutra (cow urine).

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