Episode 01 - Chapter 11 - Canto on deliverance for Sabhari.

Chapter 11 – Canto on Deliverance for Sabhari - சவரி பிறப்பு நீங்கு படலம்

 

•        This canto is possibly the shortest one – shockingly so, considering the profile of the central character – SABHARI – who comes through as one of the six or seven most important ones in the epic. We find Kamban is outdoing Sage Valmiki in this strange tight-fisted short shrift to this character. Some research information on the possibilities for this inexplicable and unnatural parsimony would be found in a separate attachment.

 

•        The disappointment with the inexplicable brevity is more than compensated by just ONE enthralling POETIC PHRASE from Kamban - புண்ணியம் பூத்தது – the attempted translation being poor by a fair distance.

 

•        Neither the AAadi Kaavya nor Kamba Ramayanam gives any credence to the popular folklore in the Sabhari episode – that she tasted every fruit, berry or edible vegetable or tuber that she offered to Rama to make sure that they were right for Rama – some research information on this would also be found in the attachment.

 

Rama and Lakshmana reached the rich and pleasant grove where the hermitage of the late Sage Madhanga was situated – and where lived Sabhari, his disciple. This grove is presented by the poet as several notches superior to the Heavens – the Heavens, according to puranic lore, are endowed with five Karpaga Vrikshas (Trees that granted all of one’s wishes) but this grove had countless such Karpaga Vrikshas. The poet also acclaims this grove as granting to its residents only the pleasures that were sought – of course of the high spiritual variety, not  lowly flesh-bound ones – and no pain at all (the Devas in the Heavens were not blessed with such unsullied, unmixed,  limitless pleasure, they often ran into painful problems): எண்ணிய இன்பம் அன்றித்  துன்பங்கள் இல்லையான புண்ணியம் புரிந்தோர் வைகும்  துறக்கமே போன்றது. துறக்கமே = Swarga.

 

Reminds us of the famous verse (padhigam) of Sage Appar:

 

நாமார்க்குங் குடியல்லோம் நமனை யஞ்சோம்

நரகத்தி லிடர்ப்படோம் நடலை யில்லோம்

ஏமாப்போம் பிணியறியோம் பணிவோ மல்லோம்

இன்பமே யெந்நாளுந் துன்ப மில்லை

 

Rama and Lakshmana approached the tiny hut where Sabhari lived – timelessly, says the poet “அளவு இல் காலம்”.  What was Sabhari doing in that “timeless” horizon of hers? “தன்னையே நினைந்து நோற்கும்” She had her mind fixated on thoughts of Rama.

 

 “Did you live here without any harm?” enquired Rama, the One who had nothing that existed before Him.

 

அன்னது ஆம் இருக்கை நண்ணி, ஆண்டுநின்று, அளவு இல் காலம்

தன்னையே நினைந்து நோற்கும் சவரியைத் தலைப்பட்டு, அன்னாட்கு

இன்னுரை அருளி, 'தீது இன்று இருந்தனைபோலும்' என்றான் -

முன் இவற்கு இது என்று எண்ணல் ஆவது ஓர் மூலம் இல்லான்.

 

ஆண்டு, அவள் அன்பின் ஏத்தி, அழுது இழி அருவிக்கண்ணள்,

'மாண்டது என் மாயப் பாசம்; வந்தது, வரம்பு இல் காலம்

பூண்ட மா தவத்தின் செல்வம்; போயது பிறவி' என்பாள்

வேண்டிய கொணர்ந்து நல்க, விருந்துசெய்து இருந்த வேலை,

 

Sabhari, receiving Rama and realizing that her “timeless” ascetics had delivered unto to her the very object of those ascetics, tears streaming down, would cry her heart out: “I have just been severed from the bonds of desire in this world; the singular object of my long ascetics, that immeasurable wealth, has just materialized in front of me; I am delivered of any further births”

 

She brought for Rama (and Lakshmana) plentiful fruits and other edible vegetables and offered a unique feast to them.

   

Tears streaming down Sabhari: Thirunjaana Sambandhar, (திருஞானசம்பந்தர்) the Saivite Saint matchlessly distils the quintessence of Bhakthi - the emotional condition of a bhakta in the full grip of his or her involvement with his/her Lord, thus:“காதலாகிக் கசிந்து கண்ணீர் மல்கி” – We find Sabhari in that very condition here.

 

'ஈசனும், கமலத்தோனும், இமையவர்  யாரும், எந்தை!

வாசவன் தானும், ஈண்டு வந்தனர்  மகிழ்ந்து நோக்கி,

"ஆசு அறு தவத்திற்கு எல்லை அணுகியது; இராமற்கு ஆய

பூசனை விரும்பி, எம்பால் போதுதி" என்று, போனார்.

 

Sabhari adulates Rama. “Oh! My Father! Lord Siva, Brahma, Indra and all the Devas visited me and were pleased: they said to me: “your spotless, long, ascetics shall reach its destination shortly; offer the appropriate offerings to Rama and arrive with us.”

 

Why did these exalted Gods come down to Sabhari? Aren’t they the ones to reach whom sages do ascetics endlessly? Kamban believes that they came because of the single-minded devotion of Sabhari towards Rama.

 

இருந்தனென், எந்தை! நீ ஈண்டு எய்துதி என்னும் தன்மை

பொருந்திட; இன்றுதான் என் புண்ணியம் பூத்தது' என்ன,

அருந் தவத்து அரசிதன்னை அன்புற நோக்கி, 'எங்கள்

வருந்துறு துயரம் தீர்த்தாய்; அம்மனை! வாழி' என்றார்.

 

“My Father! Because I was certain in my mind that you would come this way, I stayed (alive) for that priceless event. Today, the cumulative good of all my ascetics blossomed.” என் புண்ணியம் பூத்தது (Translations falter when confronted with these matchless gems!)

 

Rama and Lakshmana blessed this great soul, thanking her for providing welcome relief to their tiring long trek and for their hunger.

 

அனகனும் இளைய கோவும் அன்று அவண் உறைந்தபின்றை,

வினை அறு நோன்பினாளும் மெய்ம்மையின் நோக்கி, வெய்ய

துனை பரித் தேரோன் மைந்தன் இருந்த அத் துளக்கு இல் குன்றம்

நினைவு அரிது ஆயற்கு ஒத்த நெறி எலாம் நினைந்து சொன்னாள்.

 

The blemishless Rama and his younger one Lakshmana rested in the humble hut of Sabhari for the night. As the day dawned, Sabhari bade farewell to the duo. She advised them to proceed to the hill called “Rishiya Mukham” where she said they would meet Sugreeva, the son of Surya (for help in finding Sita); she also took pains to detail to them the complicated passage to the said hill.

 

வீட்டினுக்கு அமைவது ஆன மெய்ந்நெறி வெளியிற்று ஆகக்

காட்டுறும் அறிஞர் என்ன,  அன்னவள் கழறிற்று எல்லாம்

கேட்டனன் என்ப மன்னோ  கேள்வியால் செவிகள் முற்றும்

தோட்டவர் உணர்வின் உண்ணும் அமுதத்தின் சுவையாய் நின்றான்.

 

Rama was all intense attention to Sabhari’s instructions  – how? As if the essential spiritual edicts that are necessary for one to imbibe for attaining “Moksha” were being lucidly delivered by the highly learned, Rama stood attentively listening to what Sabhari was saying. The poet puts in an adhesive adjective to Rama here, ripe with the context: he stood there

( in his attentive listening to Sabhari ) as the distilled nectar of the Vedhas. .

 

பின், அவள் உழந்து பெற்ற யோகத்தின் பெற்றியாலே

தன் உடல் துறந்து, தான் அத்தனிமையின் இனிது சார்ந்தாள்;

அன்னது கண்ட வீரர் அதிசயம் அளவின்று எய்தி,

பொன் அடிக் கழல்கள் ஆர்ப்ப,  புகன்ற மா நெறியில் போனார்.

 

After Rama and Lakshmana listened intently to the directional advice of Sabhari, she, elevated by her intense and long ascetics, by Rama’s Grace, got her soul delivered from her earthly remains, attained the perpetually joyous solitude (the poet uses the allegory “அத்தனிமையின்”); her “Moksha” was not a typical “Vaikunta Praapthi” where she would be amidst a lot of company, Nitya Suris, Sanakathis, et al and a lot of clamour. The poet distinguishes that divine solitude with a pointed reference: அத்தனிமையின் = that solitude. She did all her ascetics in solitude and her soul was delivered unto a “Moksha” that was blissful solitude.  The poet says that Rama and Lakshmana themselves were wonderstruck by this rare phenomenon.  அதிசயம் அளவின்று எய்தி.  (The poet had, it seems, lifted this word அதிசயம் from the AAadi Kaavya: “aashcaryam idam” – 3 – 84 – 30.

 

They resumed their trek, guided by Sabhari’s detailed road-map, southwards.

They reached the shores of the placid “Pampa”, reignited with inspiration triggered by the hope of meeting Sugreeva and gaining his friendship and help in the nearly improbable task of finding Sita.

 

(Your narrator cannot resist articulating this provocation:  Kamban invested (a seemingly wasteful and unseemly) ONE HUNDRED verses in “Ayomukhi Padalam” the canto on the grotesque female demon “Ayomukhi”.  When he came to Sabhari, one of the half-a-dozen sterling characters in the Ramavatara, he stints, is tight-fisted and allocates a parsimonious TEN VERSES! Sage Valmiki does better, just so – with 35 slokas (equivalent of 17+ verses in terms of Kamban).

 

(The poet not bothering even to delve into the customary recitation of the history of his new character through an enquiry or in soliloquy is perhaps understandable in Sabhari’s context as the two of them – she and Rama - seem to have related with each other, in their very consciousness, for ages. But in his normal narrative form he would have laid out an introduction, nevertheless.

 

Incidentally, neither in the Aadhi Kaavya nor in Kamba Ramayana, is there any mention of Sabhari biting into the fruits and vegetables offered to Rama and Lakshmana in order to make sure that they were right and fit for them, a story which pouranikas use with good effect.

 

Your narrator, bitten by the curiosity bug – about this very popular folklore of Sabhari fore-tasting the offerings she gave to Rama, its origins, has found some very interesting answers. In order to whet similar curiosity on the part of the Group, the researched information is captured in a separate attachment to this post. Your narrator would commend this attachment to all of you. A perusal of this material would bring out that perceptions arose amongst sections of followers of the Ramayana story during say the 16th century CE viz. the main versions of this epic including the Aadhi Kaavya gave short shrift to the Sabhari episode because Sabhari was a tribal and exalting her would offend upper-caste sensibilities and that there was need to right that injustice. The remarkable works of both Balaram Das (who calls himself a Shudra-muni) of Odisha and Priya Das – also from that region would seem to come through as a strong riposte to that “injustice”.

 

The idea of Shabari serving "tasted" fruit first came from an Odia poet, Balaram Das, who lived in the 15th century, identified himself as Shudra-muni, and challenged Brahmanical orthodoxy in his writings.

 

Around the same time as Tulsidas wrote his Ramayana, Balaram Das wrote his Odia Dandi Ramayana. Here we find the story of how Ram encounters Shabari and she scours the forest to find sweet mango for him. He eats those with "teeth marks" indicating they have been tasted and rejects those without teeth marks. This is probably the first time we get the story of "tasted" or "saliva-soiled" fruits being served to Ram that he accepts. In traditional societies, food that is tasted is soiled and so cannot be eaten by members of the upper caste. By eating soiled food, Ram indicates how he does not care for caste hierarchy.

 

The fruit transforms from mango to ber (jujubes) two centuries later, in the Gangetic plain. Significantly, Balaram Das describes the mango served as "Sundari", a variety of mango that has a maroon blush, the same colour as jujubes. 

 

“Tasting one after another, he says, "This one's even sweeter!" He gazes at them and gushes, "Here, Lakshmana, take one."  Sabhari keeps on handing him ber after ber after ber, and Raghubir keeps singing out for, "Ber, more ber!"

 

Postscript for Sabhari’s Deliverance Episode – Sri Raghavan quoted from his grand father’s discourses :  “My grandfather's authoritative view is that Sabhari gave to Rama flowers previously smelt by her for best fragrance, and fruits previously tasted by her for the best taste. He says: "கிளி கோதின பழத்தை நாம் சிலாகித்துத் தின்பது போல், சபரி கொடுத்த கனிகளை “உத்தமியின் உச்சிஷ்டம் என்று கொண்டாடி, பகவான் இளைய பெருமாளுடன் உண்டு தன் அவதார சிரமங்களை அடியோடு போக்கிக்கொண்டார். அவளுடைய அமுத மொழிகளைக் கேட்க விரும்பி அவளுடன் வெகு நேரம் சம்பாஷித்தார்”.

•        The expected norm for religious and spiritual discourses/lore is that there would be an authority from the ancient spiritual/religious texts like the Puranas, the epics themselves, the saasthras, etc. In this instance, we were groping with that question; we had only literary references dating to medieval times – 17th century. That gnawing question was answered by an erudite member of the Group – Mrs.Sethu Mahadevan. She quotes from Padma Purana:

 

•        phalaani ca supakvaani muulaani madhuraaNi ca |  svayam aasaadya maadhuryam pariikShya paribhakShya ca |pashcaat nivedayaamaasa raaghaabhyaam dhR^iDhvrataa |

 

This would place this question at undoubted rest. (The conservative commentary on this sloka would still baulk at the popular version that Sabhari offered to Rama fruits each one of them pre-tasted by her. This conservative commentary would hinge its hopes on the word “moolani” in the sloka: that Sabhari went to the SOURCE of the fruits i.e. the fruit-bearing trees, tasted fruits from the right ones after tasting some fruits from them and then collected fruits from that tree for offering to Rama!!! Sri Bhagavan did not have to consume defiled offerings!!!