Vedic Kathas
On his way into exile, Rama reached the Ganga at Shringaverpur, where the boatman Kevat refused to ferry him until he had washed Rama's feet, fearing…
Among the best-loved episodes of the Ramayana, especially as Tulsidas tells it in the Ramcharitmanas, is the meeting of Rama with Kevat, the humble boatman of the Ganga.
Setting out from Ayodhya into exile with Sita and Lakshmana, Rama came to the banks of the river Ganga at Shringaverpur, the kingdom of his friend Guha, the Nishada chief.
Kevat, however, would not take Rama across at once. With folded hands and a knowing smile he said that he had heard what the dust of Rama's feet could do: it had turned a stone into the woman Ahalya.
Kevat brought water and washed the feet of the Lord with his own hands, and then, overcome with devotion, drank the water with which he had washed them, taking it as the holiest of blessings for himself and…
On the far bank, Sita wished to give the boatman a ring as his fare, and Rama offered him payment for the crossing. But Kevat folded his hands and refused. "You and I are of the same trade," he said.
The tale of Kevat is loved because it turns the order of the world upside down. The poorest and humblest of men serves God and asks for nothing of the world, and God accepts his service as the highest worship.
The story turns the world upside down: the poorest man serves God and asks nothing of the world, and God accepts his service as the highest worship.
Vedic Kathas
The complete story, its characters and sources, on Vedic Kathas.