The 'prashad' sold by traders outside the Baba Balak Nath temple at Deotsidh in Himachal Pradesh's Hamirpur will be only eatable for 20 days from the day of its manufacturing, said local traders on Wednesday.
Prashad are eatables offered to deities and then eaten by the devotees.
Three months ago, the samples of 'roates', a form of 'prashad' sold at the Baba Balak Nath temple trust shop at Deotsidh, were found unfit to eat according to the report of the Composite Testing Laboratory, Kandaghat in Solan district.
After the sample failed, the Beopar Mandal Deotsidh also got the samples of roates tested at Shoolini University to ascertain the period of its consumption. According to the report, the roates are edible for 20 days.
Based on the moisture and chemicals, the result said roates are not edible beyond 20 days of cooking.
Roates are made of wheat, sugar, and desi or vegetable vanaspati ghee. They are offered to the Baba Balak Nath Ji by the devotees according to old custom. The prashad is taken by the devotees to their houses and eaten later also.
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A spokesman of the local traders said now the shopkeepers making roates would have to mark the date of manufacture on the packets.
Local traders Sunil, Sanjay Kalia, and Rajiv said appealed to the local traders not to sell the stale roates and suggested that the buyers should eat the roates within 20 days of purchasing them.
Baba Balak Nath is the incarnation of Lord Kartikeya, the elder son of Lord Shiva, and is widely respected and worshipped in northern India. Lakhs of people from India and abroad visit the temple every year.
The month-long fair of Babaji will start on March 14. However, people continue to visit the shrine for about three months to offer their respect to Babaji and seek his blessings.
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