One Min Ramayana — 5 — Sabari did not offer fruits after tasting!
It is popularly believed that Sabari offered fruits to Sri Rama after tasting herself. Valmiki Ramayana describes in detail the conversation and events that happened in Matanga maharishi ashram where Sabari lived.
Aranyakanda, Chapter/Sarga 74 has all these details.
Sri Rama visits Sabari in Rishi ashram. Sabari welcomes Sri Rama with utmost humility and tells him that she was waiting for him since a long time. Her Guru has told her about Sri Rama’s arrival to their ashram. Now that she met him she says she is ready to leave her body. She further says that she had got various food items from the banks of Pampa river. She offers clean and fresh fruits to Rama. This part is described in detail in Valmiki Ramayana.
Sabari has served her Guru Matanga maharshi for several years and she very well knows how to offer fruits. After that she lits a fire and goes into that fire in front of Rama.
Sabari who was wearing only jute cloths until then turns into an angel like woman with jewels and ornaments. She then leaves to Heaven and joins her Gurus there.
What to Learn
Many times we don’t have time to offer fruits in a clean or proper way and we tend to justify ourselves by quoting Sabari story that God will accept anything if offered with Bhakthi. God expects Sraddha or Sincerity in the puja we perform. Out of laziness if we offer grapes bunch instead of individually taking grapes and offering, it shows our lack of priority to allocate enough time to offer prasad.
Also Satvik foods/fruits are what that need to be offered to God. We might have seen devotees getting sweets directly from bakery and offering to God. One has to take time like Sabari when it comes to offering Nivedyam to God. Only then we will be able to experience the bliss that Sabari had when she had Lord Rama’s Darshan.
