Shabari: The biggest devotee of Lord Rama

Shabari was an elderly woman, who received Lord Rama’s blessing for her devotion towards him in the ancient Hindu epic ‘Ramayana’.

As a small girl, Shabari always wanted to know the meaning of Dharma. In order to know its meaning, she travelled miles and met Sage Matanga one day at Mountain Rishyamukha. She accepted him as her ‘Guru’ (teacher).

Several years passed and when Matanga was about to die, Shabari asked him the way to reach "abode of peace" which he had reached. Thereupon, the sage told her that by the virtue of her service, Lord Rama will visit her one day and that she has to wait for the auspicious day.

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Thereafter, Shabari waited for Lord Rama and everyday she used to go out of her ashram to pluck berry fruits for Lord Rama. Before putting it in her basket, she used to taste it to check whether it was sweet or bitter. She wanted to present only sweet berries to the Lord.

As per saying, hundreds of devotees were waiting to receive Lord Rama but he went to Shabari’s ashram because of her honest devotion towards him. She was delighted to see the Lord in front of her.

She then presented the fruits to her Lord but Lakshmana (Lord Rama’s younger brother) noticed that she had already consumed the fruits and referred to them as impure. But Rama understood the reason behind the act. Pleased with her devotion, Rama blessed her with his vision.

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