यत्र ते सुकृतात्मानो विहरन्ति महर्षयः।
तत्पुण्यं शबरीस्थानं जगामात्मसमाधिना॥
yatra te sukṛtātmāno viharanti maha-rṣayaḥ
tat puṇyaṁ śabarī sthānaṁ jagāmātma-samādhinā
yatra = where; te = those; sukṛta-ātmānaḥ = who were very tolerant [of material dualities]; viharanti = [now] sport [in bliss]; mahā-ṛṣayaḥ = great sages; tat = that; puṇyam = sacred; śabarī = Śabarī; sthānam = place; jagāma = attained; ātma-samādhinā = through spiritual samādhi.
Through spiritual samādhi, Śabarī attained that sacred place where those great sages who were very tolerant [of material dualities now] sport [in bliss].1
1 Rāmāyaṇa-bhūṣaṇa: ātma-samādhinā ātma-viṣaya-yogena.
1 The point is that women, śūdras and the like are forbidden in the scriptures from engaging in spiritual meditation as full-fledged renunciants until they become as elevated in spiritual consciousness as Vidura. To better appreciate Vidura’s transcendental position, Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa’s commentary to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.13.15 can be consulted. Therein Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa states that though Vidura was a śūdra, he had directly experienced the Supreme Lord since he was Dharmarāja himself, and therefore he took up the role of instructing Dhṛtarāṣṭra. The ācārya notes that the Bhāradvāja-saṁhitā states that (1) women, śūdras and the like are forbidden from engaging in such activities but (2) those who have directly experienced the Supreme Truth irrespective of their birth can engage in such activities. Here, (1) is a general statement, and (2) is an authorized exception to that general statement. This is similar to Lord Caitanya’s observation that according to the Vedic scriptures the stool of animals is impure while the dung of a cow is pure. Note that Dharmarāja is one of the twelve fully God-realized authorities on Bhāgavata-dharma according to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.3.20. In simple words, after women attain the perfection of spiritual life in the form of bhāva-bhakti and so on, they can engage in spiritual meditation as full-fledged renunciants like Śabarī; until then, they can engage in spiritual meditation, which is nothing but sādhana-bhakti in intense absorption, but not as full-fledged renunciants, for they are bound to their material duties in the form of strī-dharma. As far as men are concerned, the renounced life of a sannyāsī is not allowed for kṣatriyas, vaiśyas or śūdras; a man has to become a brāhmaṇa, and then he is allowed in the scriptures to accept the life of a sannyāsī. (See Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa’s commentary on Bhagavad-gītā 3.35.) Here is the relevant excerpt from Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa’s commentary to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.13.15: tathā ca viduraḥ kaniṣṭho’pi śūdro’pi sākṣād dharmarājatvena pratyakṣī-kṛta-pareśāt tasya tad-upadeṣṭṛtvam iti. ata eva bhāradvāja-saṁhitāyām strī-śūdrādīnāṁ tan niṣidhya sākṣātkṛta-para-tattvānāṁ teṣāṁ tad āha—“na jātu mantra-dātāro na śūdro nāntarodbhavaḥ, nābhiśapto na patitaḥ kāma-kāmo’py akāmitaḥ. striyaḥ śūdrādayaś caiva bodhayeyur hitāhitam, yathārhaṁ mānanīyāś ca nārhanty ācāryatāṁ kvacit. kim apy atrābhijāyante yoginaḥ sarva-yoniṣu, pratyakṣitātma-nāthānāṁ naiṣāṁ cintyaṁ kulādikam” iti.
2 The word svarga appears in various inflected forms in the Sanskrit text of this chapter. See texts 12 and 33. That she would attain the indestructible worlds is clear from the word akṣayān in texts 13 and 16 of this chapter.
From this chapter, it is understood that Śabarī was absorbed in samādhi by following the instructions of the disciples of Mataṅga Ṛṣi. With the permission of her gurus, she waited until Śrī Rāma arrived and then with the permission of Lord Rāma, she attained that spiritual world—the world that her gurus had attained—by dint of her samādhi.
Even a woman can become eligible to engage in spiritual meditation [in full renunciation] just as Vidura and others [became eligible to engage in spiritual meditation].1 For them, menial service to the bona fide spiritual master takes the place of fire sacrifices and other accessories to such spiritual meditation.
The “Svarga” that Śabarī attained is understood to be the supreme abode [of Vaikuṇṭha] from which no one returns [to this material existence] because right at the beginning, it is mentioned that she would attain the indestructible worlds and the material Svarga [attained through material pious activities] is described in the Śruti as being destructible: evam evāmutra puṇya-cito lokaḥ kṣīyate.2