Annapoorna devi

Annapurna (Sanskrit अन्नपूर्णा Annapurna " the of food rich " " filled, full of " here means anna "food" and Purna ), also called Vishalakshi, is a Hindu female deity, the goddess of the home, the harvest of rice daily bread, cooking, abundance and food is worshiped. It also gives the gift of good cooking. Annapurna has to make sure that no one suffers from hunger. It is considered a form of mother Goddess Parvati and Shiva and Shakti as a woman. She is regarded as the preserver of prosperity. It is believed that the one who will fill the stomachs of the hungry with food, is met by the forces of divinity. In the Hindu faith, the deity is equipped with the power to deliver food in unlimited quantities. It is believed that the one who adores them, will never suffer from food scarcity in life. It symbolizes the divine aspect of nourishing care and heavenly care. The deity is also specially worshiped in South India, where it is very popular and where you are dedicated to many different shrines as the goddess of fertility, wealth and agriculture. The famous temple of Annapurna is located in Kashi ( Varanasi or Benares also called ) in India. In addition to her husband, Shiva, who is worshiped there as Visvanatha, it is considered the queen of Kashi. In Horanadu, located about 100 km west of Chikmagalur in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, is a more important place of worship of Annapoorneshwari Temple. Annapurna is the supreme goddess and Queen of Kashi. It is said that they themselves do not eat until all their followers are supplied in their temple there with enough food. Annapurna is also called the mother of the three worlds ( Triloka ). In its 108 - name - Hyme it is placed next to the donation of food, also with wisdom and Weltabgewandheit in conjunction.

Iconography

Annapurna is with all kinds of jewelry and a jeweled cup filled with porridge, in one hand and a ladle or a spoon in the other, to distribute the food to her worshipers represented. The goddess wears jewelry on the wrist. In some portrayals, she is shown in sitting posture and Shiva usually begging with a begging bowl in the shape of a skull for food in front of her. Annapurna fills his bowl with her ​​spoon. Their body color is red. She sits on a throne often or Lotus ( see picture).

Mythology

A very popular myth tells the following:

One day, Shiva and Parvati were playing a dice game. The game was so interesting that it bets were placed. Parvati continued her jewels and Shiva his trident. Shiva lost the game and make his trident. To win him back, Shiva bet this time his snake and lost again. When the game finally ended, Shiva lost everything he had, including his begging bowl.

Shiva withdrew humiliated in a forest back where they are given the god Vishnu approached, the man asked him if he wanted to play again, to regain everything he had lost.

Among his suggestions Shiva was a fact and won everything he had lost in the previous game, back again.

But the goddess Parvati was suspicious about Shiva's sudden turn of his fortune and called him a cheater. This led to a verbal duel between the spouses. Finally, Vishnu intervened and said that the stones were moved by his desire and they just stood under the illusion that they were playing.

Symbolically, life is like a game of dice - unpredictable and out of control.

The verbal duel soon turned into a philosophical discussion, and Shiva said that possessions are only temporary. Everything is Maya, also the food that we eat is Maya. But Parvati did not agree that food is just an illusion. She argued that if food is only an illusion, it is only an illusion. She wanted to know how the world would be if they had to survive without food and disappeared.

Their disappearance meant the stoppage of nature. There were no seasonal changes more. All was barren, there was no regeneration and birth. Soon it came to severe drought and food shortages.

Shiva soon realized that it was incomplete without Shakti.

Gods, humans and "demons" begging for food. The goddess Parvati could not bear to see their children die of hunger, and appeared in Kashi and started distributing food.

Shiva appeared before her with a begging bowl and Parvati fed him. Shiva said that the food can not be dismissed as mere illusion and that they are necessary to the body, the atman carries in itself nourish.

Since then Parvati is worshiped as Annapurna, the goddess of food.

The myth shows that Moksha can not be attained without food.

Ritual and worship

Annapurna is worshiped in many Hindu households. The pictures of the Annapurna can be found in kitchens, restaurants and close to the dinner table where the food is prepared and is served only after getting the blessing for the food Annapurnas. When people throw away leftovers in the Hindu households, it is believed that this aroused their anger. Therefore crumbs are not wasted food after eating. The goddess is worshiped on the fourth day of Durga Navratri. During the Annakuta ( "food mountain" - ) Fixed a mountain is actually constructed of food that fills their temple. During a festival in the spring, which brings them into the context of the burgeoning rice, her image and her temples are adorned with green rice shoots.

Comments

The mountain Annapurna in the Himalayas in Nepal is named after the goddess.