anna hartṛ

 The Sanskrit compound anna‑hartṛ means “one who steals food” or more generally “one who takes away food.”

Core meaning

The term Annahartṛ (अन्नहर्तृ) is defined in Sanskrit dictionaries as:

• “thief of food”

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• “taking away food” (mfn.)

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• A tatpuruṣa compound formed from anna (“food”) + hartṛ (“taker, remover, thief”)

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Thus the literal sense is “food‑taker,” but in usage it specifically means “one who steals food.”

Grammatical notes

• anna (अन्न) = food, grain, nourishment.
• hartṛ (हर्तृ) = “one who takes, seizes, steals,” from the verbal root √hṛ “to take away.”
• As a compound, anna‑hartṛ can appear in masculine, feminine, or neuter forms (‑rtā, ‑rtrī, ‑tṛ)

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Example from the source

The dictionary gives an example:
“annahartā mayāvī syāt” — “the food‑stealer may be a trickster”

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Distinguishing from similar “anna‑” terms

Some search results show unrelated compounds such as anna‑patnī (“goddess presiding over food”)

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or anna‑bhakṣaṇa (“eating food”). These are not connected to anna‑hartṛ; they simply share the root anna (“food”).

Summary

If you encounter anna hartṛ / annahartṛ in a Sanskrit text, it refers to a person (or being) who steals or removes food, a straightforward descriptive compound built from “food” + “thief/taker.”