“My daughter is asleep,” Arjun said, his voice cracking. “The gods have abandoned us.”
He looked at the blanket covering his daughter. The cotton had been spun, woven, dyed. In the cloth, as the patience of the weaver.
A tear fell from his cheek onto Kavya’s hand. ya devi sarvabhuteshu meaning
She closed her eyes and recited softly: “Ya Devi Sarvabhuteshu Vishnu Mayeti Shabdita Namastasyai Namastasyai Namastasyai Namo Namah.” Arjun frowned. “I know the words. ‘The Goddess who dwells in all beings as the power of Vishnu… salutations to her.’”
He looked at the moonlight spilling through the window. In the light, as the knowledge that illuminates. “My daughter is asleep,” Arjun said, his voice cracking
“Yes,” she said. “But not a distant goddess in a golden heaven. Listen.”
“A hymn,” he muttered. “To the Goddess.” In the cloth, as the patience of the weaver
Arjun, weary and broken, did as he was told.