Goddess Annapurna is the Goddess of food and nourishment and is considered as the sustainer of prosperity. In Sanskrit language the word Anna means food and grains and Purna means full or complete.By worshipping Her, one will never be out of food anytime in life.Mata Sri Annapurneshwari Devi is the Goddess for the fourth day of Durga Navrathri.She is a form of the Goddess Parvati, the consort of Lord Shiva.
Mother Goddess Annapurneswari is the presiding deity at Banaras or Varanasi. She is the Mother who graces food to everybody. The Godess of Varanasi also fed King Harishchandra's children. There are many Annapoorni temples in India where food is freely served every day to every one i.e. Dharmasthala in Karnataka. The ever bountiful figure of Annapurna (Lakshmi in her form as the giver of food) giving food shows only one aspect of the process that of giving.
Design: Made in heavy shining brass.
Brass is well known for its grasping capacity. It grasps the divine spirit upto 30%, when compared to other metals. The spiritual vibrations are attracted towards these shining idols easily.
Dimensions: 3.5 inches (H) x 2.25 inches (W) x 1.5 inches (thickness) approx
Weight: 197 gms
Importance of Idol worship: Idols are not the idle fancies of sculptors, but shining channels through which the heart of the devotee is attracted to and flows towards God. Though the image is worshipped, the devotee feels the presence of the Lord in it and pours out his devotion unto it. Regular worship, Puja and other modes of demonstrating our inner feeling of recognition of Divinity in the idol unveils the Divinity latent in it. This is truly a wonder and a miracle. The picture comes to life. The idol speaks. It will answer your questions and solve your problems. The God in you has the power to awaken the latent Divinity in the idol. The lives of Mirabai, Sant Tukaram, Shri Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Shri Yogananda are a few instances to prove the point. They proved beyond doubt that idol worship has its own brighter side and through simple faith and intense devotion one can realize God through it.
Idols are the "finite representation of the Infinite". As per Vishnu Samhita (ch 29, v 55-7), persuasively endorses the use of imagery (idols) and puts it:"Without a form how can God be mediated upon? If (He is) without any form, where will the mind fix itself? When there is nothing for the mind to attach itself to, it will slip away from meditation or will glide into a state of slumber. Therefore the wise will meditate on some form, remembering, however, that the form is a superimposition and not a reality."