Why Does Goddess Annapurna Offer Alms To Lord Shiva? Story And Significance

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The Hindu Goddess Annapurna is the deity of food and nourishment. The term 'Anna' in Sanskrit means 'food' and 'Purna' means 'full', 'complete' or 'perfect'. Hence the word Annapurna means "filled with food."

Goddess Annapurna is the one who offers food and nourishes all beings. Lord Shiva himself is seen as taking alms from Goddess Annapurna. Let's look into the story, significance and the sacredness of food in Hinduism.

The Story of Goddess Annapurna the Goddess of food

Once Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati got into a controversial discussion about the material world. Lord Shiva argued that the material world was an illusion and the food that is consumed, which is a part of the material world, was also an illusion. This angered Goddess Parvati, who governs the material world.

In order to prove her point to Lord Shiva and the world, she disappeared questioning the survival of the world henceforth. With the disappearance of Goddess Parvati, famine struck the world and all beings, including the gods began to starve.

As it was natural, Lord Shiva's followers begged him for food. Unable to find food anywhere, soon Lord Shiva, the gods and his followers realised that there was only one place on earth where food was available. It was in Varanasi (Kashi) and so they headed there. There Lord Shiva encountered Goddess Parvati in her benevolent form of Annapurna, seated on a throne, serving food for all those who approached her.

Her left hand held a vessel with food and her right hand a ladle for serving the food. The other two hands depicted the Abhaya, Varadha poses. She served alms to Lord Shiva as well and made him realise that he being the very Brahman might have overcome hunger but not the people.

Significance of the story of Annapurna and the sacredness of food in Hinduism

The story or the myth of Goddess Annapurna reveals the truth that the material world is the manifestation of Brahman and not different from it. When all is Brahman, food too is not different from it. Hinduism extols the sacredness of food in the following shloka

"annabrahmā rasoviṣṇuḥ
bhoktā devo maheśvaraḥ .
evam jñaktva tu yo bhunkte
anna doṣo na lipyate"

In the above shloka the sacredness of food is realised as

"Food is Brahma, the essence in it is Vishnu, and the one who consumes (enjoys) it is Maheshwara the Lord Himself. If you know this, then any impurities in the food will not become a part of you."

A shloka from Annapurna Stotram/Ashtakam by Adi Shankara

As Hindus realise the sacredness of food, in most households they chant the shloka which begins as "Annapurne Sadapurne" from the Annapurna Stotram/Ashtakam written by Adi Shankara in praise of Goddess Annapurna before taking food.

annapūrṇē sadāpūrṇē śaṅkara prāṇavallabhē |
Jñāna vairāgya siddhyarthaṁ bhikṣāṁ dēhi ca pārvati ||
mātā ca pārvatī dēvī pitā dēvō mahēśvaraḥ |
bāndhavāḥ śivabhaktāśca svadēśō bhuvanatrayam ||
The meaning of the above shloka which starts as "Annapurne Sadapurne" is

Salutations to Mother Annapurna: O Mother Annapurna, You who are always full (with the gift of Food and Blessings), You who are the beloved of Shankara (Shiva),
O Mother Parvati, Please grant me the alms of your Grace, to awaken within me Spiritual Knowledge (Jnana) and detachment, freedom from all worldly desires (Vairagya).

Salutations to Mother Annapurna, my Mother Devi Parvati, and my Father, Deva Maheswara (Shiva). My friends are the devotees of Lord Shiva, and my residence is all the Three Worlds (whose Lord is none other than Shiva-Parvati).

Let us thus seek the blessings of Goddess Annapurna to nourish us with food and bless us with wisdom.