A Fruity Tale

"An Apple a day keeps the Doctor away" goes the adage,
emphasising the importance of fruits to our health. No dinner table is
complete without an assortment of seasonal fruits, which form the ideal
dessert. It is perhaps with this in view that the Shastras too tell us to
conclude our meal with a sweet (fruit)-"madhurENa samApayEt". There is a
wide variety of fruits in God's creation, to suit every taste, palate and purse.
If the rich man has a basket of Alphonso mangoes, the not-so-well-to-do can
have bananas, which are cheaper and more nutritious. The Fruit thus
occupies an important place in our everyday lives and represents the
culmination of the tree or shrub's creative endeavour. Here are a few ripe
ones, for the connoisseur's sampling.
The Lord might have created any number of fruits for human consumption,
but devotees consider Him to be a tastier and more fulfilling fruit than any
other. He is the "KOdil in kani" of Sri Kalian ("Vizhumia munivar
vizhungum kOdil in kani"). Other fruits may have blemishes such as over
ripeness or immaturity, but this Divine Fruit has the perfect degree of
"pakvam" and is ever ready for consumption by the devout. Mangoes,
apples, oranges, pomegranates or guavas--most of the fruits are seasonal and
are available only during the respective season: in comparison, the Divine
Fruit is always available, throughout the year, 24 hours a day, to all those
who seek it sincerely. This is thus a Fruit with absolutely no shortcoming or
blemish ("kOdilin kani"). This is no "forbidden fruit" denied to mankind, but
a fruit which welcomes everybody to have a bite. While ordinary fruits are
the result of a process of evolution from flower to fruit, this Fruit
extraordinaire doesn't undergo any change or "vikAra".
Fruits which have already been tasted by birds and bees are extremely sweet,
we are told. By this standard, the Lord too should indeed be delicious, tasted
as He has been by the most pious of devotees like Azhwars, Acharyas and
MaharshIs, who have dedicated their thought, word and action solely to
Him ("vizhumia munivar vizhungum kOdil in kani").
If the Vedas are to be described as a giant tree with branches spread far and
wide, then the Lord is verily its ultimate result, the raison-de-etre, the Fruit"VEdattin suvai payan".

If this is what Sri Kalian has to say, then Sri Nammazhwar must have
already said it, for Sri Parakala's poems are but products of Sri Parankusa's
outpourings.
Predictably, we find a reflection of the aforesaid verse in Tiruvaimozhi, with
but negligible variation" mikkAr vEda vimalar vizhungum en akkAra kaniyE"
Here too, the Lord is described as a delectable fruit, so sweet that it could be
made of sugar candy- "akkAra kani". This akkAra kani is consumed with
delight by no less than the Celestials-"vEda vimalar".
Sri Nammazhwar seems to consider the Lord to be a "fruity" person, for
there are several related references-'nei suvai tEral engO kani engO pAl
engEnO", "kattiai tEnai amudai nan pAlai kaniyai karumbu tannai" etc.
The lips of the Lord resemble a beautiful red fruit, say all the Azhwars"kani irundu anaya sevvAi KaNNanai kaNda kaNgaL"
"kovvai chevvAi"
If Sri Parankusa and Sri Parakala consider the Lord to be a "Kani", can
Swami Desikan be far behind? For his part, the Acharya too likens the Lord
to a fruit-bearing tree. However, this is a fruit with a difference. Tall people
can pluck fruits from trees without much effort, while short ones may have
to take recourse to ladders etc. This, however, is a tree that yields fruits to
tall ones and short ones alike, but only to those who bend down to it,
irrespective of their height. Whether you are tall or short, you can reach the
fruit only if you bend down. Irrespective of one's stature in the academic,
social or economic spheres, the Lord bestows Moksha only on those who
"bend down" or perform Sharanagati to Him. Here is the beautiful sloka
from Sri ParamArttha Stuti"SrImat Gridhra saras teera pArijAtam upAsmahE
yatra tungai: atungaicha praNatai: grihyatE phalam".
Talking of Moksham, the Lord appears to have bestowed the ultimate reward
on some people, just because they offered Him fruits. And these were not
gourmet items to be found in rare lands or of exceptional taste. They were

fruits of a mere common garden variety, to be found aplenty without much

effort in the forest. The person who could wangle out liberation from the
Lord in return for a few fruits, is none other than Sri Sabhari, whose offering
the Lord accepted with great gusto, because it was accompanied by
exceptional devotion and love. The Ramayana Mangala sloka records this
for posterity"SAdaram SabharI datta phala moolAbhilAshiNE
Soulabhya paripoorNAya sattvOdriktAya mangalam"
In accepting Sri Sabhari's humble offering, the Lord appears to have been
guided by the dictum He Himself was to enunciate later in Sri
Krishnavatara-that it is not the preciousness or price of the offering that
matters, but the degree of piety and love that accompanies it'Patram pushpam phalam tOyam yO mE bhaktyA prayacchati
tadaham bhakti upahritam asnAmi prayatAtmana:"
However, is it true that Sri Sabhari, out of her anxiety to offer Sri Rama only
the best, tasted the fruits first and offered the half-eaten ones to the Prince
of Ayodhya, as is depicted in some versions and in popular television
serials?
The answer appears to be No, for there is no mention in Srimad Ramayana
of this happening. While Sri Valmiki does speak of Sri Sabhari's offering of
fruits and roots ("mayA tu vividham vanyam sanchitam Purusharshabha!tavArtthE Purusha VyAghra! PampAyA: teera sambhavam"), nowhere does
he speak of the devotee savouring them first to ascertain their tastiness. In
fact, to the contrary, Sri Valmiki tells us that all of Sri Sabhari's offerings
were "proper" and as per ShAstrAs-"PAdyam Achamaneeyam cha sarvam
prAdAd yathA vidhi".
Srimad Bhagavatam too recounts the tale of the Lord offering the priceless
jewels adorning His infantile tirumEni to an itinerant fruit-seller, in return
for a handful of "nAval pazham". Sri Yasoda tries to tempt the elusive
Krishna to come and be dressed up decently, with an offer of fruits, and, in
particular, "nAval pazham" and Jack fruit-"uNNa kanigaL taruvan", "nAvar
pazham koNdu vaitthEn" "inia palA pazham tandu" etc.
Imparting an interesting twist to the fruity tale, Sri Periazhwar tells us that
the jewels that the mischievous Lord offered to the fruit-vendor were not His

own, but confiscated from an unresisting Gopi and when summoned to

account for His misdemeanour, the Lord just laughed away the accusation"illam pugundu en magaLai koovi, kayyil vaLayai kazhattri koNdu
kollaiyinindrum koNarndu vittra angorutthikku av vaLai kodutthu
nalla nAval pazhangaL koNdu nAn allEn endru sirikkindrAnE"
The Lord's weakness for fruits is thus well demonstrated and chronicled. It
would appear therefore that if you need some favour from Him, all you have
to do is to offer Him some fruits: however, the catch lies in the phrases,
"bhakti upahritam" and "prayatAtmana:"-the fruits, however humble or
cheap, have to be offered to Him with impeccable devotion and love.
Otherwise, He doesn't even touch, leave alone accept, costly offerings, if
they are bereft of piety and sincerity. During TiruvArAdhanam, while
submitting fruits for the Lord's consumption, it is customary to offer them
duly cleaned, peeled and ready for use, and not just as they are available in
nature.
Speaking of peeling fruits, there is the tale of a devotee, whom the Lord had
honoured with a visit to his (devotee's) home, who, unable to take his eyes
off the Lord's bewitching countenance and tirumEni, ended up offering all
the banana skins to the Lord and throwing away the fruits inside, mixed up
in his preoccupation with bhagavat anubhavam. This was none other than Sri
VidhurA, who was so taken up with Emperuman's beauty that he offered the
Lord what was to be thrown away and dutifully threw away the sweet
bananas that were to be offered for consumption. However, since the banana
peels were offered with the best of bhakti and piety, though by mistake, the
Lord consumed them with all relish, without once drawing VidhurA's
attention to the mix up.
Though the Lord appears to be quite fond of fruits, there are some that He
looks askance at and doesn't partake of. The MundakOpanishad talks of a
tree, which is inhabited by two beautiful birds, of which one eats the tree's
fruits while the other doesn't.
"DvA suparNA sayujA sakhAyA samAnam vriksham parishasvajAtE
tayO: anya: pippalam svAdu atti, anasnan anya: abhichAkaseeti"

This beautiful allegory refers to the human body as the tree and the
JeevAtma and Paramatma, who inhabit this shareeram, as the pretty-winged
birds perched on the tree. The fruits of the tree represent "Karma phalam" or
the results flowing from our accumulated baggage of merits and demerits,
which the Jeevatma continues to enjoy or suffer, while the Paramatma, as the
antaryAmi, just watches the Jeevatma's antics, without partaking of and
being tainted by the fruits of the former's action or inaction.
We have seen the immense benefits that fruits, ordinary or otherwise, can
confer upon us. However, there are instances of fruits proving fatal. We are
told that ParIkshit Maharaja, who was told that he had only seven days to
live and would meet his death through a snake, barricaded himself in a
specially constructed enclosure with airtight security to prevent access to
serpents. The wise King failed to reckon with the long arm of fate, which
presented itself in the form of a Brahmin come to bless the monarch,
carrying a citrus fruit in his hand as a token of respect. Daksha, the King of
Serpents, who had hid himself in the fruit in the form of a tiny worm, came
out hissing, at his venomous best, and struck the King dead.
Depiction of nature, in all its enticing beauty, comes automatically to
Azhwars, who see the same as yet another manifestation of the Lord's
Creation in all its myriad variety. Here is a sample of the same from the
Third TiruvandAdi, in which fruits play an important role-'PArttha kaduvan sunai neer nizhal kaNdu
PErtthOr kaduvan ena pErndu-kArttha
KaLam kanikku kai neettum VenkatamE- mEl nAL
ViLam kanikku kandru erindAn verppu"
A monkey, looking down into a well and finding its reflection, imagines the
same to be another of its species and beseeches the latter to give it the black
but delicious kaLA pazham. And where does this happen? At TiruvEnkatam,
the abode of the Lord who, in His Krishnavatara, felled two mangoes in one
stone, so to say, by dashing an asurA, who had come in the garb of a calf
(VatsAsura), against another asura, who had transformed himself into a
ViLA tree(KapittAsura). The moment the calf was flung with force at the
tree, all the ViLA fruits rained down due the force and the tree itself was
totally destroyed, along with the calf.
Azhwars appear to be enamoured of this "fruitful" episode, for it receives
their repeated attention and recording-

"kattru kuNilai ViLam kanikku kandru erindAn",

"kandru kuNilA erindAi kazhal pOttri"
"MElAl ViLavin kAi kandrinAl veezhttavan!"
"tAzhnda viLam kanikku kandrerindu vEttruruvAi"
"kandrinai vAlOlai mAtti manigaL udira erindu") etc.
It is perhaps to commemorate this event that even today, the offerings to the
Lord on the SrI Jayanti day include KaLA pazham, ViLAm pazham etc.
Another instance where the innovative Krishna used fruits as ammunition
for destroying an asura is recounted by Sri Tirumazhisai PirAn.
DhEnukAsura was one more messenger of death dispatched by Kamsa to
eliminate the apple of Yasoda's eye. The asura came in the form of a mule.
Instantly identifying the marauder or what he was, the Lord caught him by
his four legs and threw him against a sturdy palm tree ripe with fruit. The
asura dashed against the fruits with such force that he was blown to
smithereens. Says Sri Tirumazhisai PirAn"VAsiyAgi nEsam indri vandu edirnda DhEnukan
nAsamAgi nAL ulappa nanmai sEr panam kanikku veesi mEl nimirnda
tOLin illai AkkinAi kazharkku AsayAm avarkkalAl amarar Agal AgumE?"
To bring the "fruity" tale to an end, all of us like fruits, but do fruits like us?
What a silly question, you might feel. However, fruits do have likes and
dislikes. There are instances of fruits appearing suddenly on branches of
trees, quite out of season. Even in these days of hybrid crop varieties and
genetically treated seeds, it would be difficult to find mangoes on tree
branches in November or December. We are told, however, that prompted by
the joyous occasion of Sri Rama's homecoming after fourteen long years of
exile in the jungle, fruits appeared on their own on all trees, quite out of
season, even on those which had stopped bearing fruit years back"Bhoomi: sasyavatI chaiva phalavantascha pAdapA:"
Contrast this with the sudden disappearance of flowers, fruits et al from all
trees, when Raghunandana left for his jungle sojourn"api vrikshA: parimlAnA: sa pushpAnkura kOrakA:---RAma vyasana
karsitA:"
Therefore it appears to be indeed true that the affinity between the Lord and
fruits is mutual: He likes them and they too love Him.