Festival · Annapurna, a form of Parvati

Annapurna Jayanti

The day Goddess Parvati appeared as Goddess Annapurna, the goddess of food, on the Margashirsha full moon that Dattatreya Jayanti falls on too. Devotees clean the kitchen, fast until the evening puja, offer her fresh food and give food away.

Annapurna Jayanti 2026
Wednesday 23 December 2026
New Delhi

For New Delhi, Wednesday 23 December 2026

Purnima tithi

Begins
10:47 am
Ends
6:58 am, 24 Dec
Sunrise
7:10 am
Sunset
5:30 pm
Moonrise
4:41 pm
Moonset
Not this day

Worked out for your city. Panchangs can differ by a minute or so.

Full panchang for this day →

How it is kept

Customs vary by region and family

  • Clean the kitchen, the stove and the grain store
  • Fast until the evening puja, and offer her freshly cooked food
  • Give food to someone in need
Annapurna, the mother who feeds the world →

What it remembers

Annapurna Jayanti is the full moon of Margashirsha, in December, kept as the day Goddess Parvati appeared as Annapurna Devi, the goddess of food. Devotees clean the kitchen, fast until the evening puja, offer her freshly cooked food and give food to those who need it. It falls on the same full moon as Dattatreya Jayanti, and her temples, above all in Kashi, hold special worship.

When food left the world

Once, the story goes, food ran out on the earth, and living beings began to starve. People prayed to Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu, who went to Lord Shiva for help. Goddess Parvati then took the form of Annapurna Devi, and Shiva went to her as a beggar, holding out his bowl. She filled it, he gave the food out to all, and the hunger ended. She is held to have appeared so on the full moon of Margashirsha.

The quarrel over illusion

In another telling it began with a quarrel. Lord Shiva said that the world and all in it, food too, was an illusion. Goddess Parvati, the mother of the world, withdrew, and with her went all nourishment. When even the gods went hungry, they learned that one kitchen still had food, in Kashi. Shiva came to its door with his bowl, and Parvati, as Annapurna Devi, served him with her own hands.

No one hungry in Kashi

Kashi, Varanasi, is her city. She is honoured there as its queen beside Vishwanath, its king, and is believed to see that all who come to Kashi are fed. Her temple stands a few steps from Kashi Vishwanath, and on Annapurna Jayanti it holds special worship.

The alms Shankara asked for

Adi Shankara wrote the Annapurna Stotram to her as the queen of Kashi. Each of its verses ends by asking her for alms, and near its close he says what alms he wants of her: knowledge and detachment. Many recite it on her day.

Keeping Annapurna Jayanti

Goddess Annapurna is worshipped at home, in the kitchen as much as at the shrine, and many fast until the evening puja. Food given away is the heart of the day. Families keep it in many ways; follow your own tradition where it differs.

  1. Clean the kitchen well, with the stove and the grain store, as her place in the home.
  2. Bathe early. Fast until the evening puja, or eat simply, as your health allows.
  3. Set her picture on a clean cloth, and honour the stove and the grain store with flowers.
  4. Light a ghee lamp and incense, and offer flowers, kumkum and a handful of uncooked rice.
  5. Cook a simple fresh meal, rice or kheer, and offer it to her first.
  6. Say her verse, Annapurne sadapurne, or read the Annapurna Stotram, and wave the lamp in aarti.
  7. Give food to someone in need: a meal, grain, or a gift to a food bank or temple kitchen.
  8. Eat together, and waste nothing.

What you need

  • A picture of Goddess Annapurna
  • A ghee lamp and incense
  • Flowers and kumkum
  • Uncooked rice
  • Freshly cooked food, rice or kheer, to offer
  • Food or grain to give away

Across India

Varanasi (Kashi)

Her temple beside Kashi Vishwanath holds special worship on her day. It is the city where, devotees say, she lets no one go hungry, and her temple’s great food offering comes at Annakut, after Diwali.

Karnataka

At Horanadu, on the Bhadra in the Western Ghats, the temple of Annapoorneshwari serves free meals to every pilgrim, whatever their faith.

West Bengal

Here her great day is Annapurna Puja in spring, in the bright half of Chaitra, rather than on this full moon.

Homes across India

The kitchen is cleaned and honoured as her place, food is offered to her before it is eaten, and food given to the hungry, annadana, is counted the best gift of the day.

When it falls

Purnima of Margashirsha. Kept on the day this tithi holds at sunrise.

These are the usual rules. A few days can differ by a day in your tradition, so check with your temple.

Annapurna Jayanti in the coming years

New Delhi, India time

  1. 2026Wednesday 23 December 2026
  2. 2027Monday 13 December 2027
  3. 2028Friday 1 December 2028

Questions

When is Annapurna Jayanti in 2026?

Wednesday 23 December 2026, in New Delhi. In a few places it can fall a day apart, so the date above is worked out for your city.

When does Annapurna Jayanti fall?

Purnima of Margashirsha. Kept on the day this tithi holds at sunrise.

How is Annapurna Jayanti kept?

Families clean the kitchen, the stove and the grain store, fast until the evening puja, and offer her freshly cooked food and give food to someone in need. Customs vary by region and family.

Who is honoured on Annapurna Jayanti?

Annapurna, a form of Parvati. The day Goddess Parvati appeared as Goddess Annapurna, the goddess of food, on the Margashirsha full moon that Dattatreya Jayanti falls on too. Devotees clean the kitchen, fast until the evening puja, offer her fresh food and give food away.

Why is Annapurna Jayanti celebrated?

It is kept as the day Goddess Parvati appeared as Annapurna Devi, the goddess of food, on the full moon of Margashirsha, and food came back to a starving world. Devotees fast, worship her, honour the kitchen and give food to others.

Is Annapurna Jayanti on the same day as Dattatreya Jayanti?

Usually, yes. Both fall on the full moon of Margashirsha. Dattatreya Jayanti is fixed by the full moon at dusk and Annapurna Jayanti by the full moon at sunrise, so in most years they share a date.

Why is the kitchen cleaned on Annapurna Jayanti?

Because the kitchen is held to be her place in the home. Families clean it, with the stove and the grain store, and honour it, so that the food cooked there is received as her gift.

What is given on Annapurna Jayanti?

Food above all: a meal for someone hungry, grain, or a gift to a food bank, a shelter or a temple kitchen. Giving food, annadana, is held to be the most meaningful act of the day.

Is Annapurna Puja in Bengal the same as Annapurna Jayanti?

No. In Bengal Annapurna Puja is kept in spring, in the bright half of Chaitra. Annapurna Jayanti is the full moon of Margashirsha, in December. Some also hold Akshaya Tritiya to be her birthday.

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