ANNAM BAHU KURVITA
Rice was probably domesticated first in the Yangtze Basin in China around 7000 BCE. In the subcontinent, it is said to have been domesticated along the Ganga by 6000 BCE. By 3500 BCE, it spread to Southeast Asia.
Today, the grain is a staple for 65% of India's population. Its production, processing, and trading is a major employer across the country. There is a wondrous variety of rice cultivators too. For example, in the Kuttanad region of Kerala, it's uniquely cultivated below the sea level. It's also a global staple with a bigger market than wheat and hence is important for food security everywhere.
The cultivation and sanctity of rice is as old as Indian culture. Sita in the Rigveda means furrow. In the Ramayana, the childless Janaka finds a baby in the furrow and names her Sita. Ahalya created by Brahma means 'unploughed'. Rabindranath Tagore suggested that Rama's release of Ahalya from a stone probably refers to the reclamation of uncultivated land.
The plough was so sacred that kings made pacts by swearing on the plough, according to Kautilya. The Atharva Veda describes rice as a healing balm, the "sons of heaven who never die". The Taittiriya Upanishad says the Supreme Being or Purusha is formed of rice and that all that is born comes from, lives on land and merges into rice. The Mahabharata says there is no gift greater than rice, while the Bhagavad Gita reaffirms that all beings are formed of rice. Krishna gifts Draupadi an Akshaya Paatra, a bowl of limitless rice.
Rice is symbolic of prosperity whose goddess is Lakshmi. Annapurna, holding a bowl of rice in one hand and a spoon in the other is the goddess of Kashi on the Ganga and worshipped all over the country. In Bengal, she is depicted as providing rice to Shiva and his assistants. Annalakshmi, created by Vishnu to ensure that humanity does not suffer from hunger, holds a sheaf of paddy in one hand and a rice bowl and spoon like Annapurna. Dhanyalakshmi has many arms and holds several sheaves of paddy and other grains. There are also local rice deities all over India.
Ponni Amman is celebrated in northern Tamil Nadu and southern Andhra Pradesh, depicted as a head placed on earth, which is her body. In Manipur, there is Phouoibi or lady of the paddy, for the Meitei people. Rice is also associated with male deities. Taittiriya Aranyaka describes Annadevata, the rice god, as the progenitor. According to Shatapatha Brahmana, rice originated from the body of Indra.
Not just India, almost every East Asian country has a unique legend about how rice came to their land; communities in most of these countries pray to a benevolent rice deity. Dewi Shri, a Southeast Asian name for Sridevi or Lakshmi, is a Balinese, Javanese, and Sudanese Hindu goddess of rice and fertility, still widely worshipped in parts of Indonesia. She is two-armed, holding a spring of paddy in one hand, with the other in a gesture of giving. The stories of Dewi Shri are associated with the mythical origin of the rice plant. All useful plants essential for humans are said to have come from Dewi Shri's body. Traditional Javanese homes have a small shrine called pasrean or the place of Sri. Worshippers offer food and prayers to her so that she may grant the family health and prosperity.
Inari is a Japanese Shinto deity identified with the Buddhist Dakiniten who rides a white fox and protects rice cultivation. Mae Posop is the rice goddess of Thailand, a mother figure who provides food and is worshipped with offerings to ancestral shrines, the spirit of the land, or monks. In Laos, the story goes that when a farmer trapped a golden fish, the fish king gave rice to humans in exchange. Guanyin, the Chinese Avalokiteshvara, sent her dog down to earth during a great flood with rice clinging to its tail, which led her to be worshipped as a rice goddess. Rice is such a vital staple in many societies that it's no surprise it has inspired so many legends.
Inari, Mae Posop, and Guanyin’s connection to rice all highlight the idea of divine beings ensuring food security and prosperity. The Laotian fish king story is interesting because it suggests a different origin—rice as a gift from an underwater realm. It’s similar to how some cultures see food as a divine exchange rather than just an agricultural product.
Rice is a part of living tradition. Many myths, oral histories, and ceremonies relate to it. From birth to death, all rituals in an Indian's life is associated with rice. As the prayer goes, 'Annam Bahu Kurvita', or may the rice be plentiful, for it's essential for our survival. Rice is a sacred thread woven through every stage of life. The phrase Annam Bahu Kurvita reflects the deep reverence for food in Indian traditions, where rice is more than sustenance; it’s a blessing, an offering, and a symbol of prosperity.
It’s fascinating how rice appears in everything from birth ceremonies (Annaprashan, the first feeding of rice) to wedding rituals and even funerary rites. The connection between rice and life itself shows how essential it is—not just physically but spiritually.
