नित्यानन्दकरी वराभयकरी सौन्दर्यरत्नाकरी
निर्धूताखिलघोरपावनकरी प्रत्यक्षमाहेश्वरी ।
प्रालेयाचलवंशपावनकरी काशीपुराधीश्वरी
भिक्षां देहि कृपावलम्बनकरी मातान्नपूर्णेश्वरी ॥ १ ॥
नानारत्नविचित्रभूषणकरी हेमाम्बराडम्बरी
मुक्ताहारविलम्बमानविलसद्वक्षोजकुम्भान्तरी ।
काश्मीरागरुवासिताङ्गरुचिरे काशीपुराधीश्वरी
भिक्षां देहि कृपावलम्बनकरी मातान्नपूर्णेश्वरी ॥ २ ॥
योगानन्दकरी रिपुक्षयकरी धर्मैकनिष्ठाकरी
चन्द्रार्कानलभासमानलहरी त्रैलोक्यरक्षाकरी ।
सर्वैश्वर्यकरी तपःफलकरी काशीपुराधीश्वरी
भिक्षां देहि कृपावलम्बनकरी मातान्नपूर्णेश्वरी ॥ ३ ॥
कैलासाचलकन्दरालयकरी गौरी ह्युमा शङ्करी
कौमारी निगमार्थगोचरकरी ह्योङ्कारबीजाक्षरी ।
मोक्षद्वारकवाटपाटनकरी काशीपुराधीश्वरी
भिक्षां देहि कृपावलम्बनकरी मातान्नपूर्णेश्वरी ॥ ४ ॥
दृश्यादृश्यविभूतिवाहनकरी ब्रह्माण्डभाण्डोदरी
लीलानाटकसूत्रखेलनकरी विज्ञानदीपाङ्कुरी ।
श्रीविश्वेशमनःप्रसादनकरी काशीपुराधीश्वरी
भिक्षां देहि कृपावलम्बनकरी मातान्नपूर्णेश्वरी ॥ ५ ॥
आदिक्षान्तसमस्तवर्णनकरी शम्भुप्रिया शाङ्करी
काश्मीरत्रिपुरेश्वरी त्रिनयनी विश्वेश्वरी शर्वरी ।
स्वर्गद्वारकवाटपाटनकरी काशीपुराधीश्वरी
भिक्षां देहि कृपावलम्बनकरी मातान्नपूर्णेश्वरी ॥ ६ ॥
उर्वीसर्वजनेश्वरी जयकरी माता कृपासागरी
नारीनीलसमानकुन्तलधरी नित्यान्नदानेश्वरी ।
साक्षान्मोक्षकरी सदा शुभकरी काशीपुराधीश्वरी
भिक्षां देहि कृपावलम्बनकरी मातान्नपूर्णेश्वरी ॥ ७ ॥
देवी सर्वविचित्ररत्नरचिता दाक्षायणी सुन्दरी
वामा स्वादुपयोधरा प्रियकरी सौभाग्यमाहेश्वरी ।
भक्ताभीष्टकरी सदा शुभकरी काशीपुराधीश्वरी
भिक्षां देहि कृपावलम्बनकरी मातान्नपूर्णेश्वरी ॥ ८ ॥
चन्द्रार्कानलकोटिकोटिसदृशी चन्द्रांशुबिम्बाधरी
चन्द्रार्काग्निसमानकुण्डलधरी चन्द्रार्कवर्णेश्वरी ।
मालापुस्तकपाशसाङ्कुशधरी काशीपुराधीश्वरी
भिक्षां देहि कृपावलम्बनकरी मातान्नपूर्णेश्वरी ॥ ९ ॥
क्षत्रत्राणकरी महाभयहरी माता कृपासागरी
सर्वानन्दकरी सदा शिवकरी विश्वेश्वरी श्रीधरी ।
दक्षाक्रन्दकरी निरामयकरी काशीपुराधीश्वरी
भिक्षां देहि कृपावलम्बनकरी मातान्नपूर्णेश्वरी ॥ १० ॥
अन्नपूर्णे सदापूर्णे शङ्करप्राणवल्लभे ।
ज्ञानवैराग्यसिद्ध्यर्थं भिक्षां देहि च पार्वति ॥ ११ ॥
माता च पार्वती देवी पिता देवो महेश्वरः ।
बान्धवाः शिवभक्ताश्च स्वदेशो भुवनत्रयम् ॥ १२ ॥
nityānandakarī varābhayakarī saundaryaratnākarī
nirdhūtākhilaghorapāvanakarī pratyakṣamāheśvarī
prāleyācalavaṃśapāvanakarī kāśīpurādhīśvarī
bhikṣāṃ dehi kṛpāvalambanakarī mātānnapūrṇeśvarī ‖ 1 ‖
nānāratnavicitrabhūṣaṇakarī hemāmbarāḍambarī
muktāhāravilambamānavilasadvakṣojakumbhāntarī
kāśmīrāgaruvāsitāṅgarucire kāśīpurādhīśvarī
bhikṣāṃ dehi kṛpāvalambanakarī mātānnapūrṇeśvarī ‖ 2 ‖
yogānandakarī ripukṣayakarī dharmaikaniṣṭhākarī
candrārkānalabhāsamānalaharī trailokyarakṣākarī
sarvaiśvaryakarī tapaḥphalakarī kāśīpurādhīśvarī
bhikṣāṃ dehi kṛpāvalambanakarī mātānnapūrṇeśvarī ‖ 3 ‖
kailāsācalakandarālayakarī gaurī hyumā śaṅkarī
kaumārī nigamārthagocarakarī hyoṅkārabījākṣarī
mokṣadvārakavāṭapāṭanakarī kāśīpurādhīśvarī
bhikṣāṃ dehi kṛpāvalambanakarī mātānnapūrṇeśvarī ‖ 4 ‖
dṛśyādṛśyavibhūtivāhanakarī brahmāṇḍabhāṇḍodarī
līlānāṭakasūtrakhelanakarī vijñānadīpāṅkurī
śrīviśveśamanaḥprasādanakarī kāśīpurādhīśvarī
bhikṣāṃ dehi kṛpāvalambanakarī mātānnapūrṇeśvarī ‖ 5 ‖
ādikṣāntasamastavarṇanakarī śambhupriyā śāṅkarī
kāśmīratripureśvarī trinayanī viśveśvarī śarvarī
svargadvārakavāṭapāṭanakarī kāśīpurādhīśvarī
bhikṣāṃ dehi kṛpāvalambanakarī mātānnapūrṇeśvarī ‖ 6 ‖
urvīsarvajaneśvarī jayakarī mātā kṛpāsāgarī
nārīnīlasamānakuntaladharī nityānnadāneśvarī
sākṣānmokṣakarī sadā śubhakarī kāśīpurādhīśvarī
bhikṣāṃ dehi kṛpāvalambanakarī mātānnapūrṇeśvarī ‖ 7 ‖
devī sarvavicitraratnaracitā dākṣāyaṇī sundarī
vāmā svādupayodharā priyakarī saubhāgyamāheśvarī
bhaktābhīṣṭakarī sadā śubhakarī kāśīpurādhīśvarī
bhikṣāṃ dehi kṛpāvalambanakarī mātānnapūrṇeśvarī ‖ 8 ‖
candrārkānalakoṭikoṭisadṛśī candrāṃśubimbādharī
candrārkāgnisamānakuṇḍaladharī candrārkavarṇeśvarī
mālāpustakapāśasāṅkuśadharī kāśīpurādhīśvarī
bhikṣāṃ dehi kṛpāvalambanakarī mātānnapūrṇeśvarī ‖ 9 ‖
kṣatratrāṇakarī mahābhayaharī mātā kṛpāsāgarī
sarvānandakarī sadā śivakarī viśveśvarī śrīdharī
dakṣākrandakarī nirāmayakarī kāśīpurādhīśvarī
bhikṣāṃ dehi kṛpāvalambanakarī mātānnapūrṇeśvarī ‖ 10 ‖
annapūrṇe sadāpūrṇe śaṅkaraprāṇavallabhe
jñānavairāgyasiddhyarthaṃ bhikṣāṃ dehi ca pārvati ‖ 11 ‖
mātā ca pārvatī devī pitā devo maheśvaraḥ
bāndhavāḥ śivabhaktāśca svadeśo bhuvanatrayam ‖ 12 ‖
Meaning
Refrain of verses 1–10: Queen of the city of Kashi, Mother Annapurneshvari, you who give the support of your grace, give me alms.
1. You who give eternal bliss, who give boons and freedom from fear, ocean of beauty's jewels; who wash away every terrible sin and make pure, Maheshvari visible before us; who sanctify the line of the snow mountain.
2. Adorned with ornaments of many jewels, splendid in golden cloth, a string of pearls hanging over your breast; lovely, your body fragrant with saffron and agaru.
3. You who give the bliss of yoga, destroy enemies and make the mind steady in dharma; whose waves of light shine like the moon, the sun and fire; protector of the three worlds; giver of every kind of wealth and of the fruit of tapas.
4. You who dwell in the caves of Mount Kailasa, Gauri, Uma, Shankari, Kaumari; you who make the meaning of the Vedas understood; whose seed syllable is Omkara; who throw open the doors of liberation.
5. You who carry all glory, seen and unseen; in whose womb the universe rests like a pot; who play out the thread of the drama of leela; the bud of the lamp of knowledge; who gladden the mind of Shri Vishvanatha.
6. You who give form to all the letters from "a" to "ksha"; beloved of Shambhu, Shankari; Tripureshvari worshipped in Kashmir, the three-eyed, queen of the universe, Sharvari; who throw open the doors of heaven.
7. Queen of the earth and of all people, giver of victory, Mother, ocean of compassion; whose tresses are dark and lustrous; who rules over the daily gift of food; who gives liberation directly and is ever auspicious.
8. Devi, adorned with all kinds of wonderful jewels, Dakshayani, beautiful, on the left side of Shiva, who nourishes with sweet milk, who does good, Maheshvari of all good fortune; who fulfils what devotees long for and is ever auspicious.
9. Shining like countless moons, suns and fires, with lips red as the disc of moonbeams; wearing earrings bright as the moon, the sun and fire, with the colour of moon and sun; holding the rosary, the book, the noose and the goad.
10. Protector of those who protect, remover of great fear, Mother, ocean of compassion; giver of all joy, ever auspicious, queen of the universe, bearer of prosperity; who made Daksha cry out; who gives health.
11. O Annapurna, ever full, dearer than life to Shankara, Parvati, give me alms so that I may attain knowledge and dispassion.
12. My mother is Devi Parvati, my father is Mahadeva Maheshvara, my kinsmen are the devotees of Shiva, and my homeland is the three worlds.
About this bhajan
At Kashi, a few steps from the Vishvanatha temple, Mata Annapurna is worshipped as the one who feeds the city, and the Kashi Khanda says no one in her city goes to sleep hungry. Shankaracharya sings to her as a sannyasi with a begging bowl: every verse ends with "bhikṣāṃ dehi", give alms. In the eleventh verse he says what alms he wants, knowledge and dispassion. The last verse, "mātā ca pārvatī devī", has travelled far beyond the hymn and is said before meals in many homes and mathas. The text here follows the 1910 Srirangam edition; popular prints add other verses and differ in a few words of verses 4, 6 and 7.
Adi Shankaracharya, Annapurnashtakam, vv. 1–12: Works of Sri Sankaracharya (Vani Vilas Press, Srirangam, 1910), sa.wikisource "अन्नपूर्णाष्टकम्"; compared with sa.wikisource "अन्नपूर्णास्तोत्रम्"