There is a Shiva Temple near my home. I mention it as the nearest landmark in my address. My both granddaughters like to visit this temple; more for the free area it offers them to play, though their mother has religiously taught them how to pray there too.
Last Sunday both of them wanted me to take them to the temple. Obviously to play there. Those two plus their cousin and a friend: it made a total of four of them. Although it is a little difficult to singly manage four children of 4 years to 6 years of age playing together, I do sometimes take the challenge to test my patience and my management competence.
My elder granddaughter is a bit restless type, always in hurry and never wanting to waste playtime. She completed her routine of praying to all the deities in a jiffy! Three main deities, nine navagrahas, twelve shivalingas, eighteen Naagdevata, et cetera and came back running to where the other three were. These three had just covered the 25% of the circuit, quite elaborately bowing and praying in front of each one of the idols.
The elder one ran to them, watched their slow rituals, went a little ahead, came back and began to grow restless.
As they slowly moved to the second set of Nagdevata out of six to be completed, she could not restrain herself. She went to her younger sister, pulled her by hand and impatiently told her,
“Chinki, enough. Not necessary to stand in front of every God. If you pray to one God, it goes to all of them. So stop now. Come, let us start playing.”
I was flabbergasted. Such a profound truth coming out of a six-year-old! I wondered whether the truth was propelled by the urgency to start playing or it was a deeply embedded teachings by her mother.
On returning home I asked my daughter-in-law whether she had taught this Sanskrit prayer to her daughters.
आकाशात् पतितं तोयं यथा गच्छति सागरम् |
सर्वदेवनमस्कार: केशवं प्रतिगच्छति॥
(As the rainwater falling from the sky anywhere finally goes to the sea, the prayers said to all the Gods finally lead to Lord Krishna.)
“No Baba.” said she, “But why are you asking?”
“Nothing,” I said, “I just thought whether you know the reverse of this shloka. I mean something like this..”
सागरात् आनीतं तोयं यथा गच्छति सर्वशः।
एकदेवनमस्कारः सर्वान् प्रतिगच्छति॥
(As the water brought from the sea {by the clouds} finally falls everywhere, the prayer said to one God goes to all the other Gods.)
At least I have never seen this shloka anywhere, but that is what my little angel meant, didn’t she?
