Shailaputri, Daughter of the Mountain

High in the Himalayas lived Himavan, the king of the mountains. He loved his snowy peaks, his pine forests and his sparkling streams. But most of all, he wished for a child to share them with.

One day, a baby girl was born to the mountain king. She grew up laughing and running through the flowers. Everyone called her Shailaputri, which means daughter of the mountain.

One morning, Shailaputri heard a sad little sound. A small white calf was stuck in a thorny bush, far from home. "Don't be afraid," she said softly. Carefully, she untangled it, one thorn at a time.

The calf licked her hand and would not leave her side. So they walked home together, down the mountain path. "You can stay with us," Shailaputri said, and the calf jumped for joy.

The calf grew into a big, gentle white bull named Nandi. He became her best friend, and she rode on his back through the mountains, holding a lotus in her hand. Where she went, he went too.

On the first day of Navaratri, families remember Shailaputri. In Nepal, it is Ghatasthapana. We place the holy kalash and sow barley seeds that will grow into jamara. Like Shailaputri, let us be kind to every little creature.