Rāmāyaṇa · Sanskrit Story

Śabarī's Berries

शबर्याः फलानि

वाल्मीकि रामायण — अरण्यकाण्डः, सर्ग ७४ (c. 500 BCE) · Beginner Sanskrit

Moral · नीतिः

भक्तिः श्रेष्ठा। न जाति-विद्या-धनम्।

bhaktiḥ śreṣṭhā. na jāti-vidyā-dhanam.

Devotion is supreme — not caste, learning, or wealth

Śabarī's Long Wait

पम्पासरोवरे शबरी नामिका वृद्धा स्त्री अवसत्। सा रामस्य भक्ता आसीत्। तस्याः गुरुः अवदत् — "रामः एकदा आगमिष्यति।" शबरी प्रतिदिनम् वनफलानि संगृह्णाति स्म। सा वर्षैः यावत् प्रतीक्षमाणा अतिष्ठत्।

At the Pampā lake lived an elderly woman named Śabarī. She was a devotee of Rāma. Her teacher had said — "Rāma will come one day." Every day Śabarī used to gather forest fruits. For years she stood waiting.

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