Shabari was a hunter's daughter and belong to the Nishadha tribal community. The night before her marriage, she saw that thousands of goats and sheep were brought by her father, which were going to be sacrificed for the marriage dinner. Moved by compassion, during the early hours of the morning, she renounced the world and ran away to meet a Master. After days of traveling, she met Sage Matanga at the foot of the Mountain Rishyamukha and accepted him as guru, serving him with devotion. When her guru Matanga was about to die, Shabari—now an old woman—says that after serving him throughout her life, she wanted to reach the same "abode of peace" which Matanga reached. Thereupon, the sage said that by the virtue of her seva (service), Lord Ram shall give her darshan and asks her to wait for his arrival. Saying thus, the sage sitting in lotus posture attains Mahasamadhi. As per her guru's words, Shabari waits for the arrival of Ram.
Everyday Shabari would go out of her ashram, with the help of a walking stick and pluck berry fruits for Lord Ram. She would pluck a fruit, first taste it, and if it was sweet she would put it in her basket and discard the bitter ones. She wanted to give the good and sweet fruits to Ram. The thought never came to her that she should not taste it before it was offered to a deity. Traditional writers use this narrative to indicate that in bhakti, faults are not seen by God. Thus collecting a few fruits, Shabari went back to her ashram and eagerly anticipate Ram's arrival. Shabari is commonly used as a metaphor for an endless wait for God.
According to the story, even though hundreds of other yogis were waiting to receive Rama in their ashrams, Rama went only to Shabari's ashram because of her sincere devotion. On seeing Rama, Shabari became ecstatic and said, "There were so many exalted yogis waiting for your darshan, but you came to this unworthy devotee This clearly shows that you will neither see whether a devotee lives in a palace or humble hut, whether he is erudite or ignorant neither see caste nor color. You will only see the true bhakti I do not have anything to offer other than my heart, but here are some berry fruits. May it please you, my Lord." Saying so, Shabari offered the fruits she had meticulously collected to Rama. When Rama was tasting them, Lakshmana raised the concern that Shabari had already tasted them and therefore unworthy of eating. To this Rama said that of the many types of food he had tasted, "nothing could equal these berry fruits, offered with such devotion. You taste them, then alone will you know. Whomsoever offers a fruit, leaf, flower or some water with love, I partake it with great joy." Lakshman didn't taste the fruits. He brought them to his mouth but threw them aside considering them as impure. Pleased with Shabari's devotion, Rama blesses her with his vision. Rama notices the donas or bowls of handmade leaves in which she had offered the fruits and is impressed by the hard work Shabari has gone through to make them and hence blesses the tree, so that the leaves naturally grow in the shape of a bowl.[citation needed] Shabari also tells Rama to take help from Sugriva and where to find him. The Ramayana says that Shabari was a very bright and knowledgeable saint.
Everyday Shabari would go out of her ashram, with the help of a walking stick and pluck berry fruits for Lord Ram. She would pluck a fruit, first taste it, and if it was sweet she would put it in her basket and discard the bitter ones. She wanted to give the good and sweet fruits to Ram. The thought never came to her that she should not taste it before it was offered to a deity. Traditional writers use this narrative to indicate that in bhakti, faults are not seen by God. Thus collecting a few fruits, Shabari went back to her ashram and eagerly anticipate Ram's arrival. Shabari is commonly used as a metaphor for an endless wait for God.
According to the story, even though hundreds of other yogis were waiting to receive Rama in their ashrams, Rama went only to Shabari's ashram because of her sincere devotion. On seeing Rama, Shabari became ecstatic and said, "There were so many exalted yogis waiting for your darshan, but you came to this unworthy devotee This clearly shows that you will neither see whether a devotee lives in a palace or humble hut, whether he is erudite or ignorant neither see caste nor color. You will only see the true bhakti I do not have anything to offer other than my heart, but here are some berry fruits. May it please you, my Lord." Saying so, Shabari offered the fruits she had meticulously collected to Rama. When Rama was tasting them, Lakshmana raised the concern that Shabari had already tasted them and therefore unworthy of eating. To this Rama said that of the many types of food he had tasted, "nothing could equal these berry fruits, offered with such devotion. You taste them, then alone will you know. Whomsoever offers a fruit, leaf, flower or some water with love, I partake it with great joy." Lakshman didn't taste the fruits. He brought them to his mouth but threw them aside considering them as impure. Pleased with Shabari's devotion, Rama blesses her with his vision. Rama notices the donas or bowls of handmade leaves in which she had offered the fruits and is impressed by the hard work Shabari has gone through to make them and hence blesses the tree, so that the leaves naturally grow in the shape of a bowl.[citation needed] Shabari also tells Rama to take help from Sugriva and where to find him. The Ramayana says that Shabari was a very bright and knowledgeable saint.
No comments:
Post a Comment
There can be more than one variant of the above story. If you have any views regarding this tales or if you found any thing wrong any link missing. Please help us improve through your comments. You can leave a comment below: