How To Worship Goddess Annapurna At Home- 5 Things To Remember

Goddess Annapurna is a deity worshipped all across the country. Her images are often seen in food delivery kitchens, small hotels, large dining halls for devotees, and even residences. 

Praying and expressing gratitude for the food on one’s table before or after meals is a custom that is resonant worldwide. Despite all the cultural differences and language barriers, having food on the table and eating three square meals every day is considered a privilege.

As a child, I remember my mother and grandmother talking to me about the privilege that comes with meals and how so many people around the world struggle to make ends meet and put food on the table. And each time I refused to eat because I was not too fond of something, they would tell me about a Goddess that sat on a throne with a pot of porridge and a ladle held in front to pour it into her devotee’s empty vessel. She was kind and generous and brought good fortune to those that worshipped her, ensuring they were always adequately fed. 

Goddess Annapurna and Her Divine Iconography

Goddess Annapurna is a manifestation of Goddess Parvati and is the Hindu Goddess of food and nourishment. She is seen seated on a throne and is portrayed with a radiant complexion. She is adorned with numerous ornaments and is seen carrying a pot of warm porridge and a ladle to serve her devotees. She brings nourishment, prosperity and knowledge.

Early Lithograph of Goddess Annapurna by Ravi Varma Press

Legend says that Goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva once disagreed about the world’s materialistic nature when Lord Shiva said that everything of material nature was “maya” or an illusion, including food. 

The infuriated Goddess who governs the materialistic aspects of the world disappeared to teach the world the importance of the food she provided. Soon, the world was deprived of food, famines struck perfectly fertile lands, and even the Gods were brought down to their knees. 

Shiva realised his mistake, and the Goddess Annapurna offered her food as alms to the Lord. 

This legend is also beautifully illustrated, and prints of the scene are also seen in dining halls worldwide. 

How To Worship Goddess Annapurna At Home

Brass Goddess Annapoorani Statue

Devotees worship Goddess Annapurna in the kitchen and the Pooja Mandap or Pooja Mandir in the home. 

1. First, cleanse the space with a pinch of turmeric to purify the energy. Then, draw a kolam with rice powder or kolam powder. 
2. Take a wide bowl or plate and fill it with raw rice grains. Then, apply a little turmeric paste and vermillion powder to the edge of the bowl/plate. Finally, place the bowl/plate on the kolam. 
3. Place the idol in the North-East direction facing West on the rice grains, and slightly push downward, holding the pedestal to secure it in place. Next, place flowers and apply turmeric and vermillion on the idol. Next, you can place a small brass Kalash or a fresh Kalash in a chombu with water, betel leaves, and coconut with turmeric and vermillion. 
4. Place vegetarian preparations such as payasam, porridge or a glass of milk as Naivedya/offering in front of the idol. Chant the Goddess Annapurna Shloka during prayer and aarti. 
5. Consume the offerings as prasadam and use the rice grains under the idol to prepare a vegetarian meal in the household when replacing it once a week. 

Goddess Annapurna Shloka

Oṃ Annapūrṇe sadāpūrṇe Śaṇkara prāṇa vallabhe jñāna vairāgya siddhyartham bhikṣām dehī ca pārvatī. Māta me Pārvatī devī pitā devo Maheśvara bāndhavāḥ Śiva bhaktāsca svadeśo bhūvanatrayam.

Goddess Annapurna and Her Significance In India’s Kitchens

In India, food is a sacred element. Therefore, temples always offer prasadam, an edible offering made to the deities during worship and distributed among devotees once the worship is complete. Some families also bring large thookus filled with prasadam to temples, and once the offering ritual is whole, they distribute it to devotees that come to pray. 

Temples also have kitchens and dining halls that can serve hundreds or thousands of meals daily to devotees. An image of Goddess Annapurna hangs on a wall, symbolic and reminiscent of the food the devotees eat from their plates. Devotees say a small prayer expressing gratitude to the presiding deity of the temple and Goddess Annapurna before they begin their meal. 

Here are some of the most notable Mega kitchens in India where food is sacred, and so is the act of feeding.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation In ISKCON is a non-profit institution that produces meals for almost one lakh fifty thousand people in less than five hours. All the meals are highly nutritious, distributed in rural areas, and also part of school lunch programs. 

Dharmasthala in Karnataka is a temple devoted to Lord Shiva with Vaishnava priests and whose management is overseen by the Heggade family of the Jain Digamber community. The kitchen feeds fifty thousand people every day with environmentally-friendly methods. 

The Jagannath Temple in Puri has a kitchen with two hundred and fifty clay ovens, six hundred cooks, and four hundred assistants that feed millions of people, especially during the festivities. 

The Golden Temple in Punjab is one of the largest free kitchens in the world. One lakh people are fed free meals every day, and the kitchen is open 24 hours throughout the year. 

The Shirdi temple in Maharashtra is home to one of India’s largest solar-powered kitchens. Forty thousand meals and breakfast portions are prepared for devotees every day! 

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