Annapurne sadapurne shankara prana vallabhe / Jnana vairagya siddhyartham bhiksham dehi cha parvati.
O Annapurna, ever-full one, beloved of Shankara’s very breath — grant me alms, so that I may attain knowledge and true renunciation, O Parvati.
Tradition attributes this hymn to Adi Shankaracharya himself, composed, the story goes, after the goddess Annapurna appeared to him in Kashi and fed him with her own hands when he had been observing an extreme fast. Annapurna’s name means simply “full of food,” and she is worshipped specifically as the deity ensuring no household kitchen, and no sincere devotee, ever runs entirely empty.
What distinguishes this stotram from a typical prosperity hymn is its explicit request: not wealth for its own sake, but sustenance sufficient to support the deeper pursuit of knowledge and detachment. The verse frames physical nourishment and spiritual pursuit as connected rather than opposed.
When it’s said: Before meals in many households, during Annakut celebrations where mountains of food are offered and later distributed, and by anyone facing genuine scarcity who wants to appeal directly to the specific goddess associated with a full plate.
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