Bhakti: The Sand Linga and the Gold Linga
Why Shiva accepts both ritual and no ritual
After a chapter of devotees from Markandeya to Akka Mahadevi, the Shiva Purana closes with the simplest question: what decides whether worship is real? A king brings a gold Linga set with gems. A poor woman builds a Linga from wet sand. Shiva weighs them and the lesson gives the answer without ceremony.
Two Worshippers on the Same Riverbank
It is mid-morning on the bank of the Kaveri, in a small village where the river bends. The water is low. White herons stand in the shallows. About twenty paces apart, on the same stretch of warm sand, two people are worshipping Shiva.
The first is a king. He has come with his court. A canopy of white silk shades a linga of solid gold the height of a child. The eyes of the linga are set with rubies. A hundred priests sit in three neat rows, chanting the Shri Rudram (the oldest Vedic hymn to Shiva) in one unbroken voice. Sandalwood paste, jasmine garlands, copper pots of milk, clay lamps of ghee, fresh bilva leaves on banana plates, turmeric marking the eight directions. At the centre, the gold linga catches the morning sun.
Twenty paces away sits a small girl. She is perhaps eight years old. Her cotton sari is the colour of old turmeric. She has come alone. She has scooped a handful of wet sand, patted it into a rough hump the size of her fist, and pressed a small dent into the top with her thumb. She has walked the shoreline, found one bilva leaf on a low branch, and placed it on her sand linga. Now she sits cross-legged in front of it, hands folded, whispering whatever she remembers of her grandmother's evening prayer. She does not know one word of Sanskrit. She knows one thing. This little heap of sand, with this one leaf, is, this morning, Shiva.
The king sees her. He is a good king. Devoted to Shiva. Generous with his offerings. Careful with his rituals. He calls his chief priest. He nods at the girl and asks, half-amused, half-troubled, is that worship at all? Will Shiva even accept it?