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. 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.

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'.

Legend

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 Parvati 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.

According to Devi Bhagvatam, Seventh Canto, Chapter 28, Verse 33 - 36, Shakambari is Goddess Parvati;

In this way, on the prayer of the Brahmin, the goddess Maheshwari Parvati, who rules over the entire earth, showed him her form with infinite eyes. Her body was like black kajal, was blessed with huge eyes like blue lotus and was adorned with very hard, uniform in shape, elevated, round, thick and shapely breasts. She was holding in her hands a handful of arrows, a huge bow, a lotus, full of flowers, roots and fruits, full of infinite juice and herbs that remove hunger, thirst and old age.

According to Shiva-Maha Purana, Uma Samita, Devi Satakshi and Shakambari are the one of the aspect of Parvati.

Similar story is also present in Skand Maha Purana, where it states that Parvati had killed demon Durgamasura.

Temple

There is the main temple in Badami, Karnataka.There are many various temples of Shakambhari Devi including one of the ancient temples in Saharanpur utter Pradesh among the mountain range as it is most famous and visited by devotees after Vaishno Devi apart from that there is another major temple which is situated in Rajasthan near at Sambhar Lake Town jheel, a huge ground of dry salt lake. Shakambhari is worshiped as the ninth number among the nine deities in Navaratri after the beginning of Vaishno Devi.

Further reading

* Annapurna
* Ishtar
* Ceres
* Demeter

References

{{Hindu Culture and Epics

Hindu goddesses
Forms of Lakshmi
Forms of Parvati
Folk deities of Rajasthan