Bedtime Stories

07 : Shabri

Okay guys, this is a story from the great poem of Ramayana! Ram's father was forced to send his beloved and capable son Ram in the forest for 14 years(OMG!) by his stepmother. While he was living in the forest, many of his devotees came to visit him. One of them was Shabri.

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07 : Shabri

Ram was living in the Panchavati forest in a small hut which was made of straw and clay. Such a mighty and generous prince, but he wasn't grieved about having to lose his riches and luxuries behind. Along with him also came his dear wife Sita and loving brother Laxman. Sita was very beautiful, gentle and kindhearted. She was determined to stay with Ram through thick and thin.

It so happened that the arrival of Prince Ram reached the King if the local tribes living in the forest. Shabri was the youngest daughter of the King. She was a great devotee of Lord Ram. As soon as she heard the news of Ram's arrival in the forest her joy knew no limits! She immediately decided to visit Lord Ram.

But how could she go empty handed? What could she offer Him? And then it struck her! She decided to offer sweet berries to Lord Ram. So she took a basket and off she went in search of ripe pink berries in the forest. However, it is very difficult to tell whether a berry has ripen or not by just looking at it! Also a few berries were starting to become stale. And Shabri did not want to give sour berries to Ram. She thought and thought of a solution. And then it clicked her!

Shabri would pick up a berry and bite a very small portion of it to check its taste! If it was ripe, she would put it in her basket and if not, she would throw it away. In this manner, she spent many days in search of ripe berries. Once her basket was full, she set off to meet Lord Ram.

Shabri went to His cottage and asked for his blessings. She then offered the berries to Ram. He was very delighted and thanked her. Then he proceeded to eat the ripe and perfectly sweet berries. However, Sita and Laxman did not like the fact that all the berries were nibbled! They thought that it was disgusting and asked Ram,"How can you eat these berries? Can't you see that all of them are nibbled?" To this Ram smiled and replied,"I can perfectly see that these berries are nibbled. But I can also see the reason behind it. Can you?" "No," replied Sita and Laxman in unison. Ram explained," All these berries are nibbled because Shabri tasted them herself. She wanted to make sure that I don't eat any sour or bitter berries. It is only out of love and devotion that she had done it. And due to it, all these berries are really very sweet and perfect!" Laxman and Sita realised their mistake and apologized. Then they too began to eat the sweet tasting berries and were really delighted at how sweet they were. They realized the pains that Shabri had undertaken for all of them. Shabri was glad that her efforts were rewarded with praise from Lord Ram himself!

Moral : Never hurt the feelings of the people who care for you. Always respect them and appreciate them for caring for you. You'll never realize their pains so, the least you can do is to be grateful.
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