8 temples in India that are famous for their non-vegetarian Prasad

India is a country where people are ardent devotees and worship the deities fearlessly. In India culture changes every few kilometres and each place has its own beliefs. This belief makes people offer certain sacrifices to the gods, which is said to please them. This offering is then cooked and distributed among the devotees of the temple. Have a look. (Images courtesy: Canva)

Based in a small village called Vadakkampatti in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, this temple hosts an unusual 3-day annual festival to honour Lord Muniyadi, which is another name of Muneeswarar, who is known to be an incarnation of Lord Shiva. Apparently, this temple serves Chicken & Mutton Biryani as prasad and people flock to the temple for eating biryani for breakfast.

This one is quite an interesting story in itself, where goddess Vimala or Bimala (an avatar of Durga) is offered meat & fish during Durga Puja. This temple is located within the Jagannath Temple complex in Puri, Orissa and is considered one of the Shakti Pithas. During the Durga Puja festival, fish from the sacred Markanda temple tank is cooked and offered to Goddess Bimala. Not just that, the ‘he goat’ sacrificed during these days before dawn is cooked and offered to her. Both these dishes are then distributed as ‘Bimala Parusa’ or prasad to those who witness the whole sacrificial rituals. What is interesting is that all this happens before the main doors of Lord Jagannath's temple are opened.

Situated in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, this temple is flocked by people as an annual Khichari Mela is organised every year. This temple is quite famous for fulfilling people’s wishes. People from across the country come to visit this temple in the Chaitra Navratri and offer a goat to the goddess on getting their wish fulfilled. This meat is then cooked by the cooks in earthen pots/vessels and provided to the devotees as prasad.

A temple dedicated to Lord Muthappan, who is known to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu and Shiva born in the period of Kali Yuga. He is known by several names in the south and is worshipped by many. In most of the offerings, incinerated fish along with toddy is offered to Lord Muthappan and it is said that by doing so one can get their wish fulfilled. This is further given as prasad to the devotees who come and visit the temple.

It is one of the 51 Shaktipeeths in the country and is 200 years old. Most of the devotees sacrifice goats here to please Goddess Kali.

This is one of the popular Shakti Peeths of India where Maa Kamakhya is worshipped by those seeking Tantric powers. This temple is situated in the Nilachal hills of Assam and is surrounded by scenic beauty. There are two bhogs made here that are offered to the goddess. One of them is veg while the other one is non-vegetarian food. Surprisingly, both the bhogs are made without using onion & garlic. The non-vegetarian bhog is made of goat meat, which is offered to Maa Kamakhya and then cooked. Also sometimes fish is made in the form of a chutney and these are offered to the goddess between 1 and 2 pm and during the time this bhog is offered, the main doors of the temple remain closed.

When in Bengal, there is another temple in Birbhum by the name of Tarapith temple, which is known among the Durga devotees. People offer meat sacrifices, which are offered to the goddess as bhog along with alcohol. This bhog is then distributed among the devotees of the goddess.

This is another Shaktipeeths that’s quite famous among the devotees of Goddess Durga. In this temple, the goddess is offered fish in the bhog which is then distributed among the devotees who come to worship Goddess Kali. However, no animal sacrifices are made in this temple.