KarmaVaani
Shakta tradition
अन्नपूर्णाAnnapurna
Annada · Annapurneshvari
Parvati as the goddess of food and nourishment, queen of Varanasi.
- Abode
- Varanasi (Kashi)
- Consort
- Shiva
- Vahana
- None
- Colour
- Fair golden
- Arms
- 2
Annapurna, 'full of food', is Parvati as the giver of nourishment. In Varanasi she is the city's queen, and Shiva himself is shown as a beggar holding out his bowl to her. Many households keep her image in the kitchen and say a short prayer to her before eating.
Mantra
अन्नपूर्णे सदापूर्णे शङ्करप्राणवल्लभे
Annapurne Sadapurne Shankara Pranavallabhe
O Annapurna, ever full, beloved of Shankara: the opening of the prayer said before meals.
How Annapurna is shown
A goddess seated on a throne holding a jewelled bowl of rice and a golden ladle, Shiva before her with a begging bowl.
- Bowl of rice
- Food that never runs out.
- Golden ladle
- Nourishment given to all, without exception.
Stories
Shiva's begging bowl
Shiva once said that the world, food included, was only illusion. Parvati withdrew, and all food vanished from the earth. When even the gods went hungry, she appeared in Kashi as Annapurna, and Shiva came to her with his bowl to receive.
