Prasad
Tamil Nadu,
India
A group of Vishnu devotees relax with their prasad. 'Prasad' literally means a gracious gift. It denotes anything, typically an edible food, that is first offered to a deity, then blessed by the Brahmin, then distributed in His or Her name to the followers. The prasad is then considered to have the deity's blessing residing within it. The desire to get prasad and have darshana are the two major motivations of pilgrimage and temple visits.