Canto 1 - Boyhood
Bāla-kāṇḍa
Chapter 1: Contents of the Rāmāyaṇa Summarized
Text 1.1.55
सोऽभ्यगच्छन्महातेजाः शबरीं शत्रुसूदनः।
शबर्या पूजितः सम्यग्रामो दशरथात्मजः॥
so ’bhyagacchan mahā-tejāḥ śabarīṁ śatru-sūdanaḥ
śabaryā pūjitaḥ samyag rāmo daśarathātmajaḥ
saḥ = Rāma; abhyagacchat = respectfully approached; mahā-tejāḥ = of great strength; śabarīm = Śabarī; śatru-sūdanaḥ = and the destroyer of enemies; śabaryā = and Śabarī; pūjitaḥ = worshipped; samyak = completely; rāmaḥ = Rāma; daśaratha atmajaḥ = Daśaratha’s son.
Rāma of great strength and the destroyer of enemies respectfully approached Śabarī and Śabarī worshipped Daśaratha’s son Rāma completely.
Rāma was filled with great strength because He was greatly happy to meet a person who had attained the ultimate stage [of spiritual advancement by attaining absolute surrender to her bona fide ācāryas]. He was the destroyer of enemies, that is, obstacles to Śabarī’s attainment of her [desired] destination, as she will herself state:
cakṣuṣā tava saumyena pūtāsmi raghu-nandana
gamiṣyāmy akṣayānl lokāṁs tvat-prasādād arindama
“O descendant of Raghu, I have become purified by Your charming glance. O destroyer of enemies, by Your mercy I will attain the inexhaustible worlds.” (Rāmāyaṇa 3.74.13)
The fact that Rāmacandra respectfully approached Śabarī, the most fallen by birth, points out that He is abundantly good in behavior [to all irrespective of their status of birth].
The second line of this verse indicates that though Lord Rāma had been fed foodstuffs with great honor by the favor of Daśaratha who had been sonless for 60,000 years, He considered the sweet rice offered to Him by Śabarī whom He had just met at that time alone to be superior.
Sages from Śarabhaṅga to Agastya had [previously] worshipped Rāma, but Śabarī worshipped Rāma completely because of her having attained the highest stage [of spiritual progress by being absolutely surrendered to her bona fide ācāryas]. In this regard, the following is noted [by the Supreme Lord elsewhere]—mama mad-bhakta-bhakteṣu prītir abhyadhikā bhavet: “I am more pleased with devotees of My devotee.”
She completely worshipped Lord Rāma because she had examined the taste of the fruits that she offered Him [in pure selfless love].
NOTE. The Supreme Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa notes in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.19.21:
mad-bhakta-pūjābhyadhikā
“Worship of My devotees [is] superior [to worship of Me].”
And in Ādi Purāṇa, Lord Kṛṣṇa tells Arjuna:
ye me bhakta-janāḥ pārtha na me bhaktāś ca te janāḥ
mad-bhaktānāṁ ca ye bhaktās te me bhakta-tamā matāḥ
[Lord Kṛṣṇa told Arjuna:] “Those who are My direct devotees are actually not My devotees, but those who are the devotees of My servant are factually My devotees.” (Quoted in Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 11.28)