Maa Annapurna

Annapurna or Annapoorna (Sanskrit: अन्नपूर्णा, IAST: Annapūrṇa, lit. filled with or possessed of food)[1] is the Hindu goddess of food and nourishment and is a Roop of goddess Parvati. Worship and offering of food are highly praised in Hinduism, and therefore, the goddess Annapurna is regarded as a popular deity. She is a manifestation of the goddess Parvati, the consort of Shiva and is eulogized in the Annada Mangal, a narrative poem in Bengali by Bharatchandra Ray. The Annapurna Sahasranam is dedicated to the goddess and praises her one thousand names, while the Annapurna Shatanama Stotram is dedicated to her 108 names.

A few temples exist that are dedicated to her, the most prominent being the Annapurna Devi Mandir in Varanasi. Since Akshaya Tritiya is considered to be the birthdate of the goddess Annapurna, the day is believed to be very auspicious for buying gold jewelry.