It has been officially announced that the panchamritham – a concoction made with bananas, honey, jaggery, ghee and cardamom, from the Sri Dhandayuthapani temple in Palani, has earned its own GI (Geographical Indicator) tag, making it a first-of-its-kind honour for temple prasadam in India as well as the 29th indigenous product from the state of Tamil Nadu to have earned the tag.
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The tag was bestowed on the temple three years after they had first applied for it through the joint commissioner of Arulmigu Dhandayuthapani Swami Thirukkoil, in June 2016. The word ‘panchamritham’ loosely translates to ‘five delicacies’ and is often used to ‘bathe’ the deities of the temple, which is later on distributed amongst eager devotees of Lord Murugan.
Image Credits: TripAdvisor
This preservative-free mixture is prepared fresh every single day since it is highly perishable, and given to visitors who come to the temple by the hundreds, from various parts of the state as well as from the diaspora in Singapore, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. Offering natural products like the ingredients for the panchamritham is common practice in temples across South India but what makes the tag so special is the fact that the mixture’s production isn’t just exclusive to the temple, but to the district of Dindigul itself.
Other previous GI tag winners from the state were the Madurai jasmine and tea from Nilgiris; these tags are conferred to products to protect their uniqueness. The temple in Palani is famously known to be the abode of Lord Murugan, and is one of the six temples built for worship, after mythology suggests that he took refuge as a hermit here. The panchamritham came about as a tribute to the tribals who lived in the hills around Tamil Nadu and offer products like honey, bananas and milk to their god of worship as a mark of gratitude. Have you ever had panchamritham before? Tell us in the comments.