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Introduction

Shakambari was the original food bearing form of Parvati as the word śākaṃbharī means ‘she who bears vegetables’. Mount Annapurna in the Himalayas is named after her as she is believed to be one of the daughters of Himavat, the king of the mountains. Shiva appreciated her importance as a food granting Goddess of the material world but did not honour her enough as a liberation granting Goddess. There is an interesting tale about Lord Shiva and Parvati that elevated Shakambari’s status to the enlightenment granting Goddess Annapurna.

Story

Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati used to play the game of dice. Once the game became so interesting that they started betting – Parvati pledged her jewels and Shiva his trident. Shiva lost the round and thus his trident. To get back the trident, Shiva bet his serpent Vasuki and the second time he lost the game again. By the time the game concluded, Shiva lost all that he had, including his begging bowl. Feeling humiliated, he left Kailash parvat.

Lord Vishnu approached Shiva and coaxed him to play again to win back all that he had lost. Shiva agreed and played again. He did indeed win but Goddess Parvati grew suspicious about Shiva’s sudden turn of fortunes and called him a cheat. This led to a verbal duel between the couple. 

Finally, Lord Vishnu intervened and revealed that the dice moved as per his wish and they were under the illusion that they were playing. 

The verbal duel soon turned into a philosophical discussion and Lord Shiva said that material possessions were temporary, everything was Maya (illusion), and even the food everyone ate was Maya. Since attaining salvation was about reducing illusions or Maya, all things material including food, had to be reduced. Hath Yogi Shiva, who had fasted for long periods, felt it was not required for anybody who desired liberation. He argued that all instincts had to be totally renounced in order to attain Moksha. However, Goddess Parvati did not agree with him that food was mayavadi.

Parvati wanted to demonstrate to her husband that the world wouldn’t survive without food, so she disappeared. In her absence, nature came to a standstill. There were no seasonal changes. Everything remained barren. There was no regeneration or birth. Seeds did not germinate, plants didn’t grow. Bees gave up pollination. Trees stopped bearing flowers or fruits. Soon there was severe drought and shortage of food.

The people all over stopped praying and devoted all their time in search of food. Gods, humans or demons if at all they prayed, asked for food and not liberation. Shiva could no longer concentrate on his meditation either. 

Just to make Shiva understand her importance, Parvati could no longer bear her devotees perishing because of hunger. She reappeared in Kashi (Varanasi) and started distributing food. Sages, householders, ascetics queued up to receive the charity.

Shiva saw the point. In order to show his honour for her magnanimity, he too appeared before her with a begging bowl asking for food just like any other hunger stricken human. Goddess Parvati graciously fed Shiva some rice porridge with a ladle. After the satisfying meal, Shiva declared that food couldn’t be dismissed as a mere illusion. It was required to nourish the body, the seat of the Atman (soul). 

Ever since, Goddess Parvati has been worshipped as the Goddess of food – Annapurna Devi. She is the patron Goddess of the city of Varanasi. There are famous Annapuarna temples in Indore and Hornadu in Karnataka. At Hornadu she is called Annapurneshwari. 

Annapurna temples offer free food to its devotees wherever they are located. Annapurna’s main festival is Annakoot when 56 types of preparations are made using all kinds of grains, fruits and vegetables to celebrate the diverse vegetation. Annapurna grows them as a means to fight the demon of hunger that torments her devotees.

Adi Shankaracharya wrote a beautiful hymn called Annapurna ashtakam, a series of verses that describe how Shiva stood at the doors of Parvati and sang her praise, asking alms from her. Till date, many families sing it before partaking precious ‘anna’.

Significance of the story

The story talks about dynamic play of instincts and spiritual goals. When we give in too much to instincts, we deviate from the path of self discovery. Our time, efforts and resources are all spent on tending to the body. Food does not remain nourishment- a means to an end, rather becomes an end in itself. The other extreme is the practice of ‘Vrata’ or ‘Upvasa’ where starving the body is considered paramount to spiritual progress. Neither is right. Optimum food that keeps one healthy according to climate, terrain, age and activity levels is the moderate and most justifiable approach. 

Once this recognition dawned on Shiva, from a passive giver of food, Parvati became an active caregiver to all those suffering from hunger. Hunger that distracted the mind and sadhana. She had finally made Shiva realize that starvation is not a must for liberation. Rather moksha is not possible on an empty stomach. One needs to respect the needs of the body. It is the bearer of the liberation seeking soul. Unless the vehicle is taken care of and maintained, the journey to salvation is impossible.

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