Karmabai (20 January 1615 – 1634) was a Jat known as- Bhakt Shiromani Karmabai. She was born on 20 January 1615 in the family of Jiwanji
Dudi in the village
Kalwa situated in
Nagaur district. She was a devotee of
Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
.
The story goes like this. Karmabai's father was a devotee of Krishna. Once he had to do some work away from home, so he instructed Karmabai to have food only after offering the food (bhog) to the lord. Karma was very young and she took this instruction literally. Next morning she woke up early and made khichdi for offering it to the Lord. But when she saw that lord was not eating, the innocent Karmabai did not eat anything at all and waited for lord to come and eat first.
Lord Krishna was very impressed by her determination and showed mercy on her. He himself appeared before her and ate her khichdi.
He followed the same routine till her father's return. When her father returned, she told him everything. Her father was shocked and refused to believe her. Karma pleaded before Lord to appear once again to prove her innocence. The merciful Lord Krishna thus appeared before Karma once again to prove his devotee's innocence.
It is common belief that she had offered 'khichadi' to Krishna in his presence. As this news spread and reached the saints of
Puri
Puri () is a coastal city and a municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is also known as '' ...
, they asked Karmabai to come there and give Bhog of khichadi to the Lord. Krishna appeared there as well. After that, Karmabai started living in Puri.
A
folk song tells the story like this -
''Thali bhar'r lyayi khichado upar ghee ki batki'' !
''Jeemo mhara syam dhani jeemavai beti Jat ki'' !!
Karmabai took a living
samādhi
''Samadhi'' (Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yoga ...
on 25 July 1634 in Puri.
Now during Puri Jagannath
Rath Yatra
Ratha Yatra (), or Chariot festival, is any public procession in a chariot. The term particularly refers to the annual Ratha Yatra in Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal and other East Indian states, particularly the Odia festival that involve a ...
, the chariot of Lord Jagannath stops near her samadhi for short period. It is believed that, without her sight the chariot couldn't move a single inch and it is God's own choice for Karmabai.
1615 births
1634 deaths
History of Rajasthan
People from Rajasthan
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