You must have definitely heard this shloka:
Gajananam Bhootaganadisevitam
Kapittha Jamboo Phala Sara Bhakshanam
There are two fruits mentioned here: kapittha and jamboo phala.
Kapittha is the elephant apple or wood apple, which is a favorite of elephants.
कैथा – This is the name in Hindi.
In Tamil Nadu, you will see this fruit especially being offered to Lord Ganesha during Vinayaka Chaturthi.
Jamboo phala – this is the jamun fruit.
Why have these fruits found a place in this shloka?
There are two explanations.
The first one is a little funny.
Lord Ganesha likes and consumes sweets a lot. Both these fruits have anti-diabetic properties. This is how the Lord keeps his sugar level under control.
The second one is more spiritual in nature.
Kapittha is hard on the outside, and the fleshy part, or the edible part, is inside. Its sara is inside.
On the contrary, jamun fruit has the fleshy part outside, while the seed, which is hard, is inside.
Sara Bhakshanam – The Lord consumes the fleshy part or the essence of both these fruits.
Those who have experience with elephants say that if an elephant consumes the hard kapittha, the elephant apple, the fruit will come out as it is in the dung, but the inside fleshy part will be gone. The elephant will not chew and break the hard shell, but in its stomach, the fleshy part will get absorbed, and the hard shell will be rejected as it is.
As for jamun, you know that if an elephant eats the jamun fruit, the seeds will come out in the dung.
See the message.
There are two kinds of people:
- Hard on the outside, sweet and soft inside – like the elephant apple.
- Sweet and soft on the outside, but hard inside – like the jamun fruit.
But Lord Ganesha is not bothered. He accepts the sara of both these kinds of people. Whatever is good in them, he accepts, and whatever is bad, he rejects.
He is not concerned with where goodness is coming from. He is only concerned with goodness as it is.
We should also be like this.
Focus only on the sara – the essence.
Whether it is a shell or a seed, they are just vehicles to carry the fleshy part – the sara, the essence.
A person may be hard or rude on the outside, but if he is doing good work, learn to appreciate it and accept it.
The real nature of a person – the inside – may not be all that great, but if the Almighty is making some good things happen through him, appreciate that also, accept that also.
