Puri, Dec 1 (ANI): In a unique ritual, around 356 varieties of dishes were recently offered to Lord Krishna at Shree Gour Bihar Ashram (Hermitage) in Sankarpur at Puri.ccording to Hindu mythology, Yashoda, mother of Lord Krishna, on this auspicious day offered varieties of food to make her son happy.

Since then, it has been a tradition for the devotees to prepare as many varieties of dishes and offer them to Lord Krishna.

The hermitage follows Gaudiya tradition. They believe that Chaitanya is the incarnation of lord Krishna. Like Yashoda, Chaitnaya's mother Sachi Devi also prepared a variety of food items for her son Chaitanya. To continue with this tradition, the hermitage organised this holy offering.

The food includes different flavours of rice and different preparations of pulses and vegetables.

Sri Subala Das, chief priest of the hermitage said that with Lord Krishna's grace they could prepare all the 356 dishes within six hours without even having any pre-fixed menu.

"This ritual of offering food is an inspiration from Lord Krishna. We had nothing to worry. Nothing was prepared even by three in the morning but by God's grace, we prepared all the 356 items by 9 in the morning," said Sri Subala Das.

The food is first offered to Lord Krishna and then to the hermits. It is later distributed among all the devotees. (ANI)