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GENERAL ENGLISH · ENGLISH IN VIDEO · ADVANCED (C1-C2)

ANNAPURNA -
THE GODDESS
OF PLENTY
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1 Warm up
Read the descriptions of these four Hindu deities and match each one to a picture.

a. With multiple heads and arms, this god was responsible for creating the world and all the creatures
in it. →

b. His distinctive blue skin, cobra necklace and trident mark out this god, who often shows extremes
of behaviour. →

c. The consort of Shiva, this goddess holds up her right hand as a blessing and carries a lotus flower
in her left hand. →

d. This elephant-headed deity, the son of Shiva and Parvati, is the god of beginnings. →

Shiva and Parvati are described as having a glorious union. What do you think might make their
marriage work so well? Think of at least three reasons.

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2 Watch: part 1

Before you watch the first part of the video (00:00-01:47), match the phrases and definitions.

1. cosmic illusion

2. agent of transformation

3. detached observer

4. material comforts

5. powers of raw creation

6. spiritually bonded

7. destroyer of evil

a. what you see around you that appears to be real, but isn’t

b. someone who brings about changes

c. experiencing a feeling of connection between people based on deep feelings or religion

d. someone who fights against very bad or harmful things

e. things which bring positive feelings because they meet basic needs

f. inventing new things using abilities that are very strong and difficult to control

g. someone who watches events without taking part

Watch the first part of the video (00:00-01:47) and decide which phrases relate to Shiva and which
to Parvati. Write S or P next to each phrase.

After you watch, answer these questions in your own words.

1. How do Shiva and Parvati complement each other?

2. In the next part of the video, Shiva and Parvati have an argument. What do you think this argument
is about and what will happen as a result?

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3 Watch: part 2

Before you watch the second part of the video (01:47-03:03), read the sentences and find words that
match these meanings.

1. profound a. strange and unnatural

2. sustenance b. deep and extreme

3. swelled c. grew larger

4. console d. offer sympathy to someone who is suffering

5. eerie e. becoming weaker

6. immune f. unaffected by something

7. ebbing g. empty, silent, lifeless

8. desolate h. food or other things necessary to support life

Watch the second part of the video (01:47-03:03) and choose ONE item in each sentence which does
NOT belong with this story.

1. After her argument with Shiva, Parvati took revenge on him by trapping him in his palace / decided
to prove how vital her work was / withdrew her half of the cosmic energy from the world.
2. As a result of her actions, the world fell into an eerie silence / parents struggled to console their
starving children / the oceans swelled to cover the land.
3. Shiva started to feel despair over the desolate earth / his supreme powers ebbing away / the
profound emptiness created by his wife’s absence.
4. Shiva realised that the material world could not be so easily dismissed / he was not immune to
the need for sustenance / he had been defeated by his wife.

After you watch, answer these questions in your own words.

1. Why do you think Parvati took such drastic action?

2. What do you think will happen next?

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4 Watch: part 3
Before you watch the third part of the video (03:03-04:39), read the summary carefully and try to
understand the words in bold. Check your ideas using the glossary. Compare the summary with your
predictions from the previous stage.

After Shiva realised his mistake, the compassionate Parvati returned to earth in the
form of a new avatar. As Annapurna, the Goddess of Food, she carried a golden
bowl full of milk.

People greeted her with joy and came together to apologise to the gods and express
joy at the return of fertility to the earth.

One story says that Annapurna first appeared in the city of Kashi, also known as the
Place of Plenty. Shiva himself, disguised as a child, approached Annapurna with an
empty bowl to beg for food and forgiveness. Images of this scene often portray
Annapurna making a special hand gesture showing forgiveness and assurance.

This story illustrates that the material world is not an illusion and operates as a kind
of cycle which sustains life.

Glossary:
compassionate: showing sympathy for other people’s suffering and wanting to help them
avatar: a form of a Hindu god when they appear on earth as a person
fertility: the quality of being able to reproduce or produce food
portray: show someone in a particular way
assurance: promise, or confidence

Watch the third part of the video (03:03-04:39) and find five information mistakes in the summary.

After you watch, answer this question in your own words.

How did all of these parties benefit from these events: Parvati? Shiva? The people of the
earth?

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5 Talking point

Discuss these questions in pairs or small groups.

1. Do you think people used to believe that this story was literally true? Might some people today
believe these events actually occurred? Why/not?
2. Why do you think stories like these are important in a religion or belief system?
3. How relevant is this story to us today?
4. Do you know any traditional stories with similar themes?
5. How would you respond to this question on an Internet message board: Is food essential to attain
spiritual bliss and mental peace?

6 Optional extension

Match the examples to the adjectives. Then think of one more item to complete each list.

1. compassionate a. feelings of hunger, a disease

2. cosmic b. the desert, Antarctica

3. desolate c. emptiness, silence

4. detached d. an observer, the new kid at school

5. eerie e. Parvati, nurses

6. immune to f. comfort, wealth

7. material g. illusion, radiation

8. profound h. power, materials

9. raw i. silence, feeling

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ANNAPURNA - THE GODDESS OF PLENTY

Complete the word family table. Underline the stressed syllables.

verb noun adjective

1
assurance —

2
console —

3
— fertility

4
— illusion

5
portray —

6
sustenance —

Choose five items of vocabulary from the lesson and write meaningful sentences which show that
you understand how each item is used.

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Transcripts

3. Watch: part 2

Narrator: Lord Shiva - primordial destroyer of evil, slayer of demons, protector, and omniscient
observer of the universe - was testing his wife’s patience. Historically, the union between
Shiva and Parvati was a glorious one. They maintained the equilibrium between thought
and action on which the well-being of the world depended. Without Parvati as the agent
of energy, growth, and transformation on Earth, Shiva would become a detached observer,
and the world would remain static. But together, the two formed a divine union known
as Ardhanarishvara - a sacred combination which brought fertility and connection to all
living things. For these reasons, Parvati was worshipped far and wide as the mother
of the natural world - and the essential counterpart to Shiva’s powers of raw creation.
She oversaw humanity’s material comforts;and ensured that the Earth’s inhabitants were
bonded to each other physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Yet a rift had grown between
these two formidable forces. While Parvati sustained daily life with care and control, Shiva
had begun to belittle his wife’s essential work - and insisted on quarrelling about their
roles in the universe. He believed that Brahma, the Creator of the world, had conceived
the material plane purely for his own fancy. And therefore, all material things were merely
distractions called mŕayŕa - nothing but a cosmic illusion.

Narrator: For millennia Parvati had merely smiled knowingly as Shiva dismissed the things she
nurtured. But upon his latest rebuke, she knew she had to prove the importance of her
work once and for all. She took flight from the world, withdrawing her half of the cosmic
energy that kept the Earth turning. At her disappearance, a sudden, terrifying and all-
encompassing scarcity enveloped the world in eerie silence. Without Parvati, the land
became dry and barren. Rivers shrank and crops shrivelled in the fields. Hunger descended
on humanity. Parents struggled to console their starving children while their own stomachs
rumbled. With nothing to eat, people no longer gathered over heaped bowls of rice, but
withdrew and shrank from the darkening world. To his shock and awe, Shiva also felt the
profound emptiness left by his wife’s absence. Despite his supreme power, he too realized
that he was not immune to the need for sustenance, and his yearning felt bottomless
and unbearable. As Shiva despaired over the desolate Earth, he came to realize that the
material world could not be so easily dismissed.

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Narrator: At her husband’s epiphany, the compassionate Parvati could no longer stand by and watch
her devotees wasting away. To walk among them and restore their health, she took the
form of a new avatar, carrying a golden bowl of porridge and armed with a jewel-encrusted
ladle. As word of this hopeful figure spread, she was worshipped as Annapurna, the
Goddess of Food. With the arrival of Annapurna, the world blossomed anew. People
rejoiced at fertility and food and communed together to give thanks. Some believe that
Annapurna first appeared in the sacred city of Kashi, or the Place of Freedom, on the banks
of the Ganges - where she opened a kitchen to fill the bellies of the people until they could
eat no more. But it was not only mere mortals who were served at her feast. Humbled
at the scenes of earthly pleasure blooming all around him, Lord Shiva himself approached
the goddess with an empty bowl and begged for food and forgiveness. For this reason,
the supreme deity is sometimes portrayed as a poor beggar at the mercy of Annapurna;
holding her golden bowl in her left hand, while the right forms the abhaya mudra - a gesture
of safety and assurance. With these symbols, this powerful avatar makes it clear that the
material world is anything but an illusion. Rather, it is a cycle of life that must be sustained
- from the feeding of open mouths and rumbling bellies to the equilibrium of the Earth.

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Key

1. Warm up

5 mins.
This short stage briefly introduces some important Hindu gods (or deities /"deI.I.ti:z/), which students may have
some familiarity with already. Call attention to the pictures and go over the descriptions with the class - elicit/explain
the meaning of consort (the husband or wife of a ruler) if necessary. Pose the follow-up questions to the class,
eliciting a range of ideas about why marriages work well, encouraging students to consider human marriages as
well as those between gods. Note that Ganesha is not mentioned in the video but is included here because he is
easily recognizable and related to the main characters.

a. Brahma b. Shiva c. Parvati d. Ganesha

Shiva and Parvati are described as having a glorious union. What do you think might make their marriage work
so well? Think of at least three reasons. 7→ Students’ own answers - don’t confirm or deny any ideas at this
stage.

2. Watch: part 1

15 mins.
Each of the next three stages follows the same basic pattern. Students define vocabulary in order to complete a
comprehension task based on one short part of the video. Note that the three parts are short, so make sure you
are ready to stop the video in the correct place, as indicated in each stage. After completing this comprehension
task, students then react to the story so far and make a prediction about the next events in their own words.
These tasks support students’ understanding of the basic story, although there may also be unfamiliar words
and phrases in the video which are not defined in an exercise. Take your time to complete each stage: drill
pronunciation of vocabulary items so students know what to listen for, watch the video segment twice if necessary
(but without subtitles) and use pair work for the initial stages of the After you watch questions, before rounding up
answers from the whole class. Students will have an opportunity to practise vocabulary in the optional extension
stage.
Vocabulary

1. → a. 2. → b. 3. → g. 4. → e. 5. → f. 6. → c. 7. → d.
Video: part 1
Answers:
S - destroyer of evil, detached observer, powers of raw creation, cosmic illusion;
P - agent of transformation, material comfort, spiritually bonded.

1. Sample answer: they have different powers and 2. Students’ own answers.
strengths which work together to maintain the balance
of the world. This is described as a mediation between
thought and action in the video.

3. Watch: part 2

15 mins.

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Follow the same basic procedure as for the previous stage.

1. → b. 2. → h. 3. → c. 4. → d.
5. → a. 6. → f. 7. → e. 8. → g.
Answers:
1: took revenge on him by trapping him in his palace
2: the oceans swelled to cover the land
3: his supreme powers ebbing away
4: he had been defeated by his wife

1. Students’ own answers. 2. Students’ own answers.

4. Watch: part 3

15 mins.
Follow the same basic procedure as for the previous stage.
The five mistakes are:
1) she appeared with a golden bowl of porridge (not milk);
2) people came together to give thanks to the gods (not to apologise);
3) Kashi is known as the Place of Freedom (not the Place of Plenty);
4) Shiva was disguised as a beggar (not a child);
5) the hand gesture shows safety (not forgiveness) and assurance.

Sample answers:
Parvati was proved right, and her value was demonstrated;
Shiva learned something about the true nature of the material world;
the people of the earth were eventually able to experience a time of plenty, after a disaster.

5. Talking point

10 mins.
Remind students to give reasons and examples for their answers and to explore other points of view. Monitor
and support as necessary and round off the stage with feedback and error correction, including pronunciation.
Students could visit the Ted-Ed website to leave a response on the guided discussion message board:
https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-legend-of-annapurna-hindu-goddess-of-nourishment-antara-raychaudhuri-and-iseult-
gillespie/discussions/is-food-essential-to-attain-spiritual-bliss-and-mental-peace

6. Optional extension

10 + mins.
These activities are intended as a filler or cooler if you have time in your lesson and offer extra practice with the
vocabulary from the lesson. Students can use English-English dictionaries if they need to. These activities could
also be done for homework.

1. → e. 2. → g. 3. → b. 4. → d. 5. → i.
6. → a. 7. → f. 8. → c. 9. → h.

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1. assure
2. consolation
3. fertile
4. illusory
5. portrayal
6. sustain

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