Bhoga means food sanctified by being offering to a god, while food made holy by presentation to Jagannath goes under the name of mahaprasad. The latter term properly means any food offered to Jagannath, whether cooked or uncooked, rice or other food, but properly it is used only for cooked rice, pulses, vegetables, tamarind, presentations of the same, and sweetmeats, but not for edible fruit. The bhogas are of two kinds, the kothbhoga or offerings made from the temple funds and the Raja’s house, and chhattra bhoga, or offerings made by math's or private persons.

         About half of the kothbhoga mahaprasad is given as remuneration to the officiating priests, and the rest is sold, the sale proceeds being credited to the account of the Raja of Puri. It is reported by the Manager that the whole of the kothbhoga is regarded as part of the Raja’s perquisites, from which he allows a portion to the priests. The food is cooked in the temple Kitchens by the Suars, and is thence removed by a covered passage to the inner sanctuary in the case of ordinary kothbhogas, and to the Bhogamandapa in the case of larger kothbhogas and chhatrabhogas. When the food is being presented to the gods, the priests on duty utter mantras, fans and fly-flaps (chamars) are waved, and music is played.

           Except the Suars and the priests, none can touch the pots; otherwise they become unfit for presentation before the god and have to be thrown away. But on the completion of worship, the food becomes mahaprasad, and then can be touched by anybody and offered even by men of low caste to Brahmans and others of high caste. The mahaprasad thus prepared (minus the quantity retained by the Raja and the priests on duty) is offered for sale at Sarghara, a place outside the inner enclosure on the way to the Snanavedi. Here the pilgrims or their Pandas employees buy and take the pots to the lodging-houses. The cooking is generally well done; but if kept for more than a day, as is usually the case during the Car Festival, the food putrefies and becomes unfit for consumption.