Sri Yoganarasimhaswamy Temple, Vijayanagar draws 100 cooks to prepare sweet prasadam

Mysuru: As Mysuru city prepares to welcome the New Year-2025, Sri Yoganarasimhaswamy Temple in Vijayanagar is set to distribute two lakh laddus to devotees visiting the Temple on the first day of the year.

Addressing a press conference this morning, Prof. Bhashyam Swamiji, Founder of Sri Yoganarasimhaswamy Temple, announced that preparations are underway to distribute two lakh laddus, modelled after the famous Tirupati Laddu. More than 100 cooks are working at the Temple premises to prepare laddus for devotees.

“Late Thespian Dr. Rajkumar donated Rs. 1,000 during his visit to the Temple in 1994, requesting that laddus resembling those from Tirupati be prepared. From starting with just 1,000 laddus, we have now grown to distribute two lakh laddus,” he said. He added that special puja rituals on Jan. 1 will commence at 4 am, followed by the distribution of laddus.

“We are preparing 10,000 laddus weighing 2 kgs each, along with two lakh laddus weighing 150 grams each for the occasion. The laddus are made using 100 kgs of gram flour (kadle hittu), 200 kg sugar, 10,000 litres of edible oil, 500 kg cashew, 500 kg raisins, 250 kg badam, 1,000 kg diamond sugar, 2,000 kg bura sugar, 50 kg pista, 50 kg cardamom, 50 kg nutmeg (jakai), mace (japatre), 50 kg edible camphor (pachha karpoora), and 200 kg cloves (lavanga),” he explained.

Temple Administrative Officer Srinivasan added that, following the tragedy at Kicchugutti Maramma Temple in Chamarajanagar, all laddus have been thoroughly tested by the MCC to ensure safety. “To avoid untoward incidents, we have requested the Mysuru City Police to provide security. CCTV cameras have been installed in the kitchen to monitor the preparation process. Separate entry facilities will be provided for men, women, senior citizens & physically disabled persons,” he said.

Dr. Rajkumar’s daughter Lakshmi, son-in-law Govind Raj, University of Mysore Vice-Chancellor Prof. N.K. Lokanath and others were present on the occasion.