Annapoorneshwari

One day, Shiva and Parvati got into an argument. Shiva said that everything materialistic was just an illusion, including the food that the humans ate. This infuriated Parvati, who governs materialistic aspects. To show Shiva and the world her importance, she disappeared, saying that she wanted to see how the world would survive without her.

With Parvati's disappearance, the world was deprived of food, and Shiva's followers begged him for food. Finally, Shiva realised that there was only one kitchen on earth, in the city of Varanasi (Kashi), where food was still available.

To his surprise, the kitchen was owned by his wife Parvati, but in the form of Annapurna. She was seated on a throne, serving and distributing food to the hungry inhabitants of the earth. Annapurna offered her food as alms to Shiva and made him realize that as Brahman, Shiva might have outgrown hunger; but his followers had not.