The legend of Annapurna, Hindu goddess of nourishment - Antara Raychaudhuri & Iseult Gillespie

翻译人员: 圆圆 刘 校对人员: Yanyan Hong

Lord Shiva— primordial destroyer of evil, slayer of demons,

湿婆神——原始的 邪恶毁灭者，屠魔者，

protector, and omniscient observer of the universe—

宇宙之守护者和全知者——

was testing his wife’s patience.

正在考验着他妻子的耐心。

Historically, the union between Shiva and Parvati was a glorious one.

历史上，湿婆和帕尔瓦蒂的 结合是十分动人的。

They maintained the equilibrium between thought and action

他们维持着世界的幸福所依赖的

on which the well-being of the world depended.

思想与行动之间的平衡。

Without Parvati as the agent of energy, growth, and transformation on Earth,

若没有了帕尔瓦蒂来掌管 世间的能量、生长和转化，

Shiva would become a detached observer, and the world would remain static.

湿婆就会变成一位被失去了 双眼的观察者，世界将不再运转。

But together, the two formed a divine union known as Ardhanarishvara––

但他们共同组成了 一个神圣合体——

半女世尊，

a sacred combination

一个能为所有生物带来 生育和连结之力的神圣结合。

which brought fertility and connection to all living things.

For these reasons, Parvati was worshipped far and wide

因此，帕尔瓦蒂作为 与湿婆的原始创造力

as the mother of the natural world––

相对应的自然之母

and the essential counterpart to Shiva’s powers of raw creation.

而被广泛的崇拜——

She oversaw humanity’s material comforts;

她监管着人类的物质享受；

and ensured that the Earth’s inhabitants were bonded to each other

并确保着地球上的居民在 物质、情感和精神上的相通。

physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Yet a rift had grown between these two formidable forces.

然而这两个强大的力量之间 却产生了嫌隙。

While Parvati sustained daily life with care and control,

在帕尔瓦蒂小心的维持着 日常生活的同时，

Shiva had begun to belittle his wife’s essential work—

湿婆开始贬低他的妻子 所做的重要的工作——

and insisted on quarreling about their roles in the universe.

并执着于争论他们 在宇宙中的作用。

He believed that Brahma, the Creator of the world,

他相信创世神梵天 设计出的物质世界

had conceived the material plane purely for his own fancy.

纯粹出于他自己的喜好。

And therefore, all material things were merely distractions called māyā—

因此，所有的物质仅仅是一种

被称为“幻（玛雅 MAYA）” 的消遣——

nothing but a cosmic illusion.

除了宇宙的幻像之外， 什么也不是。

For millennia Parvati had merely smiled knowingly

几千年以来，帕尔瓦蒂 总是放纵湿婆拆散她

as Shiva dismissed the things she nurtured.

造物的行为，报之以微笑。

But upon His latest rebuke,

但在他最近的指责下，

she knew she had to prove the importance of her work

帕尔瓦蒂明白 她必须要一劳永逸地

证明她工作的的重要性。

once and for all.

She took flight from the world,

她离开了这个世界，

withdrawing her half of the cosmic energy that kept the Earth turning.

同时，带走了属于她那一半 用以维持世界运转的能量。

At her disappearance, a sudden, terrifying and all-encompassing scarcity

当她消失之际，一下子， 可怕的、包罗万象的虚空

enveloped the world in eerie silence.

将世界笼罩在阴森恐怖的寂静中。

Without Parvati, the land became dry and barren.

没有了帕尔瓦蒂， 土地干旱而贫瘠。

Rivers shrank and crops shriveled in the fields.

河流干涸，作物枯萎。

Hunger descended on humanity.

饥饿降临人间。

Parents struggled to console their starving children

父母挣扎着安慰 他们挨饿的孩子，

while their own stomachs rumbled.

尽管他们自己也已饥肠辘辘。

With nothing to eat, people no longer gathered over heaped bowls of rice,

没有了食物，人们食不果腹，

but withdrew and shrank from the darkening world.

退避了这个黑暗的世界。

To His shock and awe,

同时，让湿婆震惊与害怕的是

Shiva also felt the profound emptiness left by his wife’s absence.

妻子的离开带来了深深的空虚。

Despite His supreme power,

尽管拥有至高无上的力量，

He too realized that He was not immune to the need for sustenance,

湿婆意识到自己也 不能免于对食物的需求，

and His yearning felt bottomless and unbearable.

对帕尔瓦蒂的怀念 也变得无穷无尽，难以忍受。

As Shiva despaired over the desolate Earth,

当湿婆在荒凉的地球上 感到绝望的同时，

He came to realize that the material world

他开始意识到物质世界

could not be so easily dismissed.

不可能被轻易的毁灭。

At her husband’s epiphany,

既然有了丈夫的顿悟，

the compassionate Parvati could no longer stand by

帕尔瓦蒂的同情心 也不允许她再袖手旁观，

眼睁睁地看着信徒们日益消瘦。

and watch her devotees wasting away.

To walk among them and restore their health,

为了游走在信徒之中 并恢复他们的健康，

she took the form of a new avatar,

她使用了一个新的化身，

carrying a golden bowl of porridge and armed with a jewel-encrusted ladle.

手持一个金色的装满粥的碗 和一个镶嵌宝石的勺子。

As word of this hopeful figure spread,

随着这个代表着 希望的形象的传播，

she was worshipped as Annapurna, the Goddess of food.

她被尊称为安娜普尔，食物之神。

With the arrival of Annapurna, the world blossomed anew.

随着安娜普尔的到来， 世界重新充满了活力。

People rejoiced at fertility and food, and communed together to give thanks.

人们被丰收和食物所鼓舞， 聚集在一起感谢女神。

Some believe that Annapurna first appeared in the sacred city of Kashi,

有人认为，安娜普尔最初出现在

恒河两岸的圣城喀什， 或自由之地，

or the Place of Freedom, on the banks of the Ganges—

[喀什的开放厨房]

where she opened a kitchen to fill the bellies of the people

在那里她开设了 一个厨房来为人们充饥，

until they could eat no more.

直到他们再也吃不下。

But it was not only mere mortals who were served at her feast.

但来到她宴会上的不只有凡人。

Humbled at the scenes of earthly pleasure blooming all around him,

谦逊地融入在他周围 绽放着世俗的欢乐，

Lord Shiva himself approached the goddess with an empty bowl

湿婆神拿着一个空碗 接近女神并乞求食物和宽恕。

and begged for food and forgiveness.

For this reason, the supreme deity is sometimes portrayed as a poor beggar

由此，这个至尊神有时被描绘成 被安娜普尔怜悯的可怜乞丐。

at the mercy of Annapurna;

holding her golden bowl in her left hand, while the right forms the abhaya mudra––

左手捧着她的金碗，右手做着 象征着安全、安心的无畏手印，

a gesture of safety and assurance.

With these symbols, this powerful avatar makes it clear

这个强大的化身 用这些符号来表明，

that the material world is anything but an illusion.

物质世界绝不是幻想， 而是必须维持的生命循环。

Rather, it is a cycle of life that must be sustained—

from the feeding of open mouths and rumbling bellies,

小到喂养嗷嗷待哺 和饥肠辘辘的人们

to the equilibrium of the Earth.

大到地球的平衡。