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Kashi
Annapurna temple is nearly four hundred meters away from the famous Vishwanath
temple in Viswanath Galli. One can go through gate no.1 to visit this temple
next to Kashi Viswanath temple. As the
Goddess of food and abundance, she is worshipped by many Indians. Devotees who
pray to her are blessed with material as well spiritual prosperity. In every
household people express their devotion to her before taking food. Sri
Adisankaracharya might have visited temple as evident from his famous hymn
“Annapurna Astakam”, though the present temple was built later in 18th
century.
One has to walk through narrow winding lanes
to reach this temple. This temple was built by Maratha king, Peshwa Baji Rao in
1729. The entrance of the temple is
decorated with intricate carvings depicting themes from Hindu mythology. The
floral designs show the architectural beauty of this temple. One enters temple
through a pillared mandapa and see the idol of the goddess Annapurna seated on
a golden lotus.
She is
dressed in golden clothes and ornaments. A crescent moon adorns her forehead. She is seen with a pot in one hand and a ladle
in the other hand. One can see another gold icon of Annapurna once a year on
Annakut day one day after Diwali. During this time coins and rice are given to
devotees who believe those who keep these treasures safe will never scarcity. A
large amount of food with many varieties is prepared on this day and
distributed to all visitors. This temple has also idols of Lord Shiva, Ganesha,
Lakshmi and Sarswati.
According to
legend, when Shiva told Parvati that the whole world is an illusion and
unpredictable like the game of dice, Parvati became enraged and withdrew her
powers of providing food. All creatures suffered from famines. Viewing the
plight of her creation she took pity and gave abundant food for their
sustenance. Shiva too realized her importance and stood before Annapurna
stretching his bowl to receive food. She assured people that none should starve
in the city of Varanasi.
Near this
temple there is a Bhojanalaya which provides food freely to every pilgrim
between 11.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. Nearly five hundred people can sit here and
take their food. It has separate sections for men and women. Prasad is also
distributed to pilgrims who visit this temple. One can donate amount as charity
at this place. Devotees are not allowed
to bring cameras and electronic while entering the temple. There many
choultries and shops all along the way to this temple.
Though Varnasi is a well-developed town, the approach roads are very narrow with full of bends. The narrow winding lanes bring to our eyes the historic and ancient picture of this place. But the pilgrims find it difficult to know the location of this temple. At least sign boards and directions should be set up to guide the pilgrims to this temple. The nearby tourist places are Sri Kashi Viswanath temple (400 meters), Dasaswamedh Ghat (750 meters), Sankat Mochan temple (750 meters), Assi Ghat (3.3 Kms), Ramnagar Fort(7kms), Saranth (9 kms), and the Banares Hindu university (6.5 kms). The opening hours of this temple are:4.00 a.m. to 11.30 A.m. and from 7.00 p.m. to 11.00 p.m
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25th April, 2025 Somaseshu Gutala
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