Shakambhari

Shakambhari (Sanskrit: शाकम्भरी, IAST: Śākambharī), also referred to as Shatakshi, is a goddess of nourishment. She is regarded to be an incarnation of Mahadevi, and identified with both Lakshmi and Durga in Hinduism.[2] After the malevolent asura Durgamasura deprived the earth of nourishment by causing the sages to forget the Vedas, the goddess appeared to offer human beings and devas sufficient fruits and vegetables to restore their strength.[3]

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For the ancient town, see Sambhar, Rajasthan.

Shakambhari
Goddess of Nourishment[1]
Artistic depiction of Shakambhari
Devanagariशाकम्भरी
Venerated inShaktism
FestivalsNavaratri, Durga Puja, Durga Ashtami, Lakshmi Puja

Etymology

The word śākaṃbharī means 'she who bears vegetables'. The word is derived from two words- śāka (Sanskrit: शाक) which means 'vegetable/vegan food' and bharī (Sanskrit: भरी) which means 'holder/bearer/wearer' which is ultimately derived from the root word bhṛ (Sanskrit: भृ) which means 'to bear/to wear/to nourish'.[4]

Legend
Shakambhari Mata Temple in Sambhar, Rajasthan

After the asura Durgamasura sought to plunge the earth in drought and scarcity, a century of suffering endured on earth, when the sages finally remembered the goddess Lakshmi after the asura had made them forget about the Vedas, she appeared upon the worlds in a dark-hued blue form, casting her hundred eyes on the sages. When the sages extolled and chanted the hymns of Ishvari, the four-handed goddess appeared bearing a lotus, arrows, a great bow, and vegetables, fruits, flower, and roots. According to the Devi Bhagavata Purana, seeing the misery of the people, she showered incessant tears from her eyes, streaming into rivers, and offering medicines.[5] Lakshmi shares her deed with Indra in the Lakshmi Tantra:[6]

O Sakra, men will then extol me as the hundred-eyed (deity) and I shall nourish the whole world with wonderful life-sustaining plants issuing from my own body and filled with (my essence: dvistaih). Then, Vasava, the gods will worship me as Sakambhari (the embodiment of vegetation).

— Lakshmi Tantra, Chapter 9

Further reading

References
  1. Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency. Printed at the Government Central Press. 1884.
  2. SINHA, N. (1991). A STUDY OF THE ORIGIN MYTHS: SITUATING THE GUHILAS IN THE HISTORY OF MEWAR (A.D. SEVENTH TO THIRTEENTH CENTURIES). Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 52, 63–71. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44142569
  3. www.wisdomlib.org (22 May 2018). "Shakambhari, Śākambharī, Śākaṃbharī: 12 definitions". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  4. Thirugnanam (December 2012). Devi Mahatmyam English Transliteration. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  5. www.wisdomlib.org (15 May 2013). "On the glory of the Śatakṣi Devī [Chapter 28]". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  6. Lakshmi Tantra A Pancharatra Text Sanjukta Gupta. pp. 51–52.
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