Goddess Shakambari Devi is an incarnation of Mother Goddess Shakti. It is in this form she nourishes all living beings. Shakambari Mata means ‘She Who Is Clothed In Leaves And Twigs.’
In the Devi Mahatmya it is mentioned that Goddess Shakti appeared as Shakambari Mata after a period of hundreds of years of drought. All the plants had died and there was nothing to eat. Shakambari Mata brought forth from her body fruits, flowers, vegetables and herbs to suffice the hunger of the people.
The form of Shakambari Devi is described in detail in Durga Saptashati. Maa Shakambari is blue in color. Her eyes are like lotus flower. She is depicted with numerous arms – one arm is shown as carrying a lotus with bees circling it. The other hands carry bow, arrows, flowers, roots, and vegetables.
The bees circling her symbolically represents pollination and fruiting.
The stories of Goddess Shakambari is closely related to Goddess Banashankari and many scholars are of the view that both are the same goddess worshipped in different names.
As per some accounts, the drought was the result of a Demon Durgam stealing the four Vedas, all pujas and havans ended after the Vedas were stolen. She fought and killed the demon and recovered the Vedas and the earth was nourished once again after the Yajnas began. For this reason she holds the bow and arrow.
The most popular festival dedicated to Goddess Shakambari is held from Paush Shukla Paksha Ashtami to Paush Purnima. Goddess Shakambari is worshipped during the period in Karnataka, Maharashtra , Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
She is also known as Shatakshi - the thousand eyed one. It is said that when she saw her children suffering due to drought, tears flowed from her thousand eyes and this nourished the parched earth. Soon plants reappeared on earth.
She is also known as Shatakshi - the thousand eyed one. It is said that when she saw her children suffering due to drought, tears flowed from her thousand eyes and this nourished the parched earth. Soon plants reappeared on earth.
"Symbolically, the drought represents the spread of Adharma (unrighteousness), which turns a once-nourishing Earth into a barren wasteland fueled by human greed. To combat this destruction, the Mother Goddess uses Her bow and arrow to annihilate the greed of Adharma. She then weeps for nine days from Her thousand eyes, Her tears restoring fertility to the parched land. The arrival of bees signals pollination, prompting the rebirth of plants and vegetables. In this divine form, the Mother Goddess once again nourishes Her children with abundance."