BERRIES OF SHABRI

(The same Shramna is the famous Shabri of Ramayana.)

Shramna was a lower caste woman of Bheel tribe. From the very childhood she was devoted to Rama. Worshiping Rama and singing his prayers was her favourite daily exercise. Her family didn't like it because it belonged to a tribe that used to be engaged in lowly and anti-social practices.

Shramna was married off when she grew up. But the marriage brought no joy to her. Her husband was a no good drunkard. His family too consisted of anti-social elements. Shramna felt suffocated there. Every member of the family cursed Shramna for all the ills that befell them. All of them derided her devotion of Rama. In that unholy environment life had become impossible for her. She wanted to run away to some place from that hell.

But where could she go? That was the problem.

After a lot of thinking she decided to go to the ashram of Sage Matang. One day, she left her home and reached the ashram. Being an untouchable she could not summon courage to go inside. She sat down near the entrance bundled up in confusion.

Sometime later, Sage Matang arrived. He saw Shramna cringing by the side of the entrance. Sage Matang wanted to know the reason of her presence there. With reluctance Shramna revealed her story. It set Matang thinking. After some consideration he admitted her to his ashram.

Shramna's polite behaviour and her usefulness made her the favourite of the inmates.

When her husband learnt that his wife was living in an ashram of a sage he flew into rage. With a view of taking her back by force he marched to Matang ashram accompanied by some of his hooligan friends who were armed.

Sage Matang learnt about the intentions of the rogues. Shramna did not want to go with her evil husband. She looked helplessly at the sage.

The sage used his para-powers and created a ring of fire around Shram to protect her from the hooligans. The sight of the fire frightened the husband and his evil gang. They fled. After that he never troubled Shramna.

The time passed.

Then, Rama and Laxmana one day arrived at the Matang ashram in the course of their search of missing Sita. The sage welcomed the brothers to his ashram.

He revealed to the tribal woman, "Shramna, the Rama you have been worshiping all your life since childhood today stands before you. Treat him t whatever you can manage in this wilderness."

Shramna looked at Rama wonder eyed and fell at his feet. Then, she ran away to the forest. A little while later she returned with some edible roots, wild melon and berries.

She placed the basket of roots and melon before Rama and Laxmana and begged them to eat. But how could she offer the berries? They were a mix of sweet and bitter ones. Serving bitter berries was unthinkable for her. So, what to do? Her simple tribal mind worked out a simple solution.

She sat beside Rama. Then, she would pick a berry, take a small bite to taste the berry and offer it to Rama if it was sweet.

Rama was delighted to see her simplicity and affection. He smilingly accepted the bitten berries and ate them with relish because they represented her pious devotion to him, the fruits of her selfless love. She was granted heaven by the Lord.