A Bengaluru Temple Where Milk is Returned as Buttermilk
A temple in Bengaluru has found a thoughtful way to stop milk wastage during Shivling puja by turning the offered milk into buttermilk & serving it as prasadam.
India is a land of temples, where lakhs of devotees visit daily to offer prayers. Among these, Shiv temples are especially popular, and people often offer milk, water, curd, honey, and sugarcane juice during Shivling Abhishekam.
However, for many years, people have raised concerns about the wastage of these precious items—especially milk. At most temples, the milk offered during puja goes to waste. On the other side, our country also has thousands of people who sleep on an empty stomach every day. Many believe that instead of wasting food items in rituals, it is better to donate them to the poor and needy.
In the middle of this concern, one temple in Bengaluru has shown a wonderful and thoughtful way forward.
The Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple, a famous and ancient cave temple located in Hulimavu, Bengaluru, is not only known for its stunning rock-cut architecture but also for a unique natural event that happens every year in January. On this day, devotees say a miracle takes place—the ghee used in the Abhishekam turns into butter. Many people believe this butter has healing powers.
But recently, the temple is also being praised for another reason—not wasting the milk offered during the puja.
Eshwarananda Swamy, the head of the temple, shared, “I have done a lot of research on how to serve the devotees better. I read that milk is a valuable item, and we should not waste it. So, we decided to make sure that the milk offered during Abhishekam is not mixed with things like turmeric or vermillion, so it remains clean.”
Once the milk is collected, the temple follows a hygienic method to turn it into curd. Later, the curd is made into buttermilk, which is then given to the devotees as prasadam the next day.
“On Mondays, which is considered Lord Shiva’s day, hundreds of litres of milk are offered. We make sure it is collected and used to prepare buttermilk, which is served to everyone on Tuesday,” he added.
In today’s time, when saving resources and avoiding waste is so important, the Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple is setting a beautiful example. Their idea shows how religious beliefs and responsible practices can go hand in hand.
