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Importance of Annadanam In Hinduism
In Hindus, it is believed that donating food is the best form of charity and it is also significant as per mythology. Read here to know all about the importance of doing annadanam.
Every living being requires certain basic things to lead a peaceful life. While things like clothes and shelter affect the quality of life, the absence of food can snatch life itself.
"Annadanam" is made up of two words - 'Annam' which means food and 'danam' which means the act of giving or donating. Annadanam is called the 'Mahadanam' among the various kinds of danam.
The other kind of danam like 'bhoodanam', 'godanam' and 'arthadanam' are charity done by the rich and those who have the means to do so, whereas annadanam is within the reach of a layperson with just the bare necessities who could do danam.
Charity in the form of annadanam is a way in which you can contribute to life itself. The wise men of ancient India called hunger the greatest disease. It is a disease that afflicts everyone and there is no cure for it.
The Puranas say that the stomach is like an 'agni kund' that plays host to fire - one among the 'panchabhoots' that our body is made up of. It demands offerings in the form of food constantly and regularly.
If the offering is denied, the life ceases to exist and the body becomes empty. Helping to provide for this agni kund is more virtuous than performing thousands of yagnyas.
"Annad bhavanti bhootani" - these are the words of Sri Krishna in the Bhagvat Gita. It means that all creation is sustained due to food. Helping to assuage a person's hunger will win you good karmas in this world and in the next.
It is a mistake to think that annadanam is limited to providing only humans with food. It is an equally important deed to feed the animals and plants of the creation as well.
The following are three interesting stories that will illustrate the importance of annadanam. Take a look.
Lord
Shiva
And
Devi
Parvati
Once
upon
a
time,
Lord
Shiva
and
Devi
Parvati
were
playing
with
the
dice.
In
the
course
of
the
play,
Lord
Shiva
lost
everything
to
Devi
Parvati,
including
his
trident,
serpent
and
the
begging
bowl.
Dejected,
Lord
Shiva
was
roaming
the
jungles
when
Lord
Vishnu
appeared
and
encouraged
Lord
Shiva
to
play
again.
Lord
Vishnu
promised
to
help
Lord
Shiva
win.
Just as promised, Lord Shiva soon won back all that he had lost. Devi Parvati smelled foul play and found out that the dice and the whole game were the result of Lord Vishnu's 'Maya or illusion'. Devi Parvati grew furious. To calm Devi Parvati, Lord Vishnu said that everything that one can see, hear, taste, smell and feel is due to Maya. Everything including the food that we eat is Maya.
Devi Parvati disagreed. She said that if food was Maya, she too was Maya and that was not the case. To prove her point, she vanished and all the creation came to a standstill. The creation was devoid of food in the absence of Devi Parvati.
Soon even Lord Shiva too began feeling the pangs of hunger and started wandering the worlds in search of food. Meanwhile, Devi Parvati couldn't bear to see the world and her children suffer without food. So, she took the form of Annapoorneshwari and started doing annadanam in the city of Kashi.
Hearing this, Lord Shiva rushed to Devi Annapoorna and received annadaanam from her. With her point proven, she came back with Lord Shiva and the creation went back to its former abundant state.
Karna
And
The
Cycle
Of
Rebirth
As
Karna
lay
on
the
battlefield
awaiting
his
death,
Lord
Sri
Krishna
approached
him.
Sri
Krishna
gave
Karna
two
boons
and
asked
him
for
his
wish.
Karna answered that his first wish was that the news of his death be told to Devi Kunti, so that she may admit to the fact that Karna was her oldest son.
For the second wish, Karna said that he knew he won't escape from the cycle of rebirth because he had never performed annadana. Without annadana, all the other dana karma he has done is of no consequence. Therefore, he wished to be born in a well-to-do family, so that he could perform the pious deed of annadanam.
Sri Krishna promised to fulfill his wishes, and it was only then that Karna passed away.
Sudama
And
Sri
Krishna
Sudama
and
Sri
Krishna
were
best
friends
in
their
childhood.
But
when
they
grew
up,
Sri
Krishna
became
a
king
and
Sudama
became
a
poor
Brahmin.
One
day,
Sudama
decided
to
go
to
Sri
Krishna
to
ask
for
help
in
improving
his
state
of
life.
He
carried
a
small
bag
that
barely
contained
a
handful
of
beaten
rice.
When he reached Sri Krishna's palace, he was warmly invited in by his old classmate. Sudama couldn't bring himself to ask his friend for help. So, after spending some time with Sri Krishna, he decided to return. It was then that Sri Krishna spotted the little bag of beaten rice.
On Sri Krishna's insistence, Sudama hesitantly handed over the bag of beaten rice. Sri Krishna was delighted and ate two handful of beaten rice and gave the rest to his wife, Rukmini.
It is said that as a result of this dana, all of Sudama's problems melted away. On his return, he was greeted by a palatial house, in place of his old hut. And the house was overflowing with money.
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