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

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Helen Chang

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

濕婆神——最初 摧毀邪惡、斬殺惡魔的神，

protector, and omniscient observer of the universe—

亦是宇宙的保護者 和全知的觀察者——

was testing his wife’s patience.

在考驗著他妻子的耐心。

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

在歷史上，濕婆和帕爾瓦蒂的 結合是光榮的結合。

They maintained the equilibrium between thought and action

他們維持著思想和行動之間的平衡，

on which the well-being of the world depended.

而世界的福祉就要仰賴這平衡。

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

若沒有帕爾瓦蒂來扮演地球上 能量、成長和轉變的媒介，

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

濕婆就會變成袖手旁觀者， 而世界就會維持不變。

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

但，他們在一起形成了神聖結合， 即一般所知的濕婆娜蒂——

a sacred combination

一種神聖的結合，

which brought fertility and connection to all living things.

將豐饒與連結帶給所有生物。

For these reasons, Parvati was worshipped far and wide

因為這些理由，帕爾瓦蒂被視為

as the mother of the natural world––

大自然世界之母而廣受崇拜——

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

和濕婆的原生創造能力 是很重要的對應。

She oversaw humanity’s material comforts;

她會監督人類的物質舒適；

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

並確保地球的居民彼此連結，

physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

實體上、情緒上，及心靈上。

Yet a rift had grown between these two formidable forces.

但這兩股可怕力量之間的 嫌隙卻越來越大。

While Parvati sustained daily life with care and control,

帕爾瓦蒂雖然仍然維持 照顧和控制的日常生活，

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

但濕婆卻開始鄙視 妻子的重要工作——

and insisted on quarreling about their roles in the universe.

堅持要爭吵他們 在宇宙中扮演的角色。

He believed that Brahma, the Creator of the world,

他相信世界的創造者梵天

had conceived the material plane purely for his own fancy.

構想出物質平面的目的 單純只是為了自己的愛好。

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

因此，所有物質的一切都只會 造成分心，稱為摩耶——

nothing but a cosmic illusion.

僅是宇宙的幻覺而已。

For millennia Parvati had merely smiled knowingly

數千年來，當濕婆不理會 帕爾瓦蒂所滋養的一切時，

as Shiva dismissed the things she nurtured.

她都只是會意地微笑。

But upon His latest rebuke,

但在他最近一次指責她時，

she knew she had to prove the importance of her work

她知道她得要一勞永逸地證明

once and for all.

她的工作有多重要。

She took flight from the world,

她逃離了這個世界，

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

將她用來讓地球持續轉動的 一半宇宙能量收回。

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

她消失時，在令人 毛骨悚然的安靜中，

世界突然被一種駭人、 無所不包的匱乏給籠罩。

enveloped the world in eerie silence.

Without Parvati, the land became dry and barren.

沒有了帕爾瓦蒂， 大地就變得又乾又瘠。

Rivers shrank and crops shriveled in the fields.

河流縮小，田裡的作物枯萎。

Hunger descended on humanity.

人類開始挨餓。

Parents struggled to console their starving children

父母拼命想辦法安慰餓壞的孩子，

while their own stomachs rumbled.

但他們自己也是飢腸轆轆。

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

沒有東西可吃，人們不再 齊聚一堂吃一碗碗盛滿的米飯，

but withdrew and shrank from the darkening world.

而是從漸漸變黑暗的世界退縮。

To His shock and awe,

而濕婆也在妻子離開後 感到深刻的空洞，

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

這點讓他既震驚又敬畏。

Despite His supreme power,

儘管他有至高的力量，

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

他也知道他仍然有糧食上的需求，

and His yearning felt bottomless and unbearable.

而他的渴望感覺是個 無底洞，難以承受。

As Shiva despaired over the desolate Earth,

當濕婆對孤寂的地球感到絕望時，

He came to realize that the material world

他漸漸了解到，不可以

could not be so easily dismissed.

這麼輕易地拋棄掉物質世界。

At her husband’s epiphany,

在濕婆頓悟時，

the compassionate Parvati could no longer stand by

帕爾瓦蒂的同情心

讓她無法再坐視 她的信徒繼續消瘦。

and watch her devotees wasting away.

To walk among them and restore their health,

為了要走入人群中 並恢復他們的健康，

she took the form of a new avatar,

她採用了一個新的化身，

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

手持裝著粥的金碗， 並帶著有珠寶裝飾的杓子。

As word of this hopeful figure spread,

這個人物帶來了希望，消息傳開，

she was worshipped as Annapurna, the Goddess of food.

她被當作食物女神 安娜普納來崇拜。

With the arrival of Annapurna, the world blossomed anew.

安娜普納所到之處， 世界再次綻放。

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

人們歡喜慶祝豐饒和食物， 親密地在一起表達感恩。

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

有些人相信安娜普納 最早出現在神聖城市迦屍，

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

或者恒河河岸的自由之地——

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

她在那裡開了廚房，

讓大家飽食，直到他們吃不下。

until they could eat no more.

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

但，她的盛宴不只服務凡人。

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

因為看到身邊滿滿的世俗喜悅， 濕婆神也變謙遜了，

Lord Shiva himself approached the goddess with an empty bowl

他自己帶著空碗去找這位女神，

and begged for food and forgiveness.

請求食物和寬恕。

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

因為這個原因，這位至高的神 有時會被描繪成貧窮的乞丐，

at the mercy of Annapurna;

任由安娜普納擺佈；

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

她的左手拿著金碗， 右手做出無畏印——

a gesture of safety and assurance.

這種手印代表安全和保障。

With these symbols, this powerful avatar makes it clear

透過這些象徵， 這個強大的化身清楚表明

that the material world is anything but an illusion.

物質世界絕對不是個幻覺。

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

反之，它是必須要被 維持下去的生命循環——

from the feeding of open mouths and rumbling bellies,

從餵飽張開的口和轆轆飢腸，

to the equilibrium of the Earth.

到地球的平衡。