The Forgotten Shrine and Its Small Visitor
In a desolate region where few pilgrims passed, there stood an ancient shrine of Lord Śrī Nārāyaṇa, partly collapsed, its sanctum dark and overrun with wild growth. Long ago, it had been a place of great worship, but now only the wind whispered its prayers, and the moonlight illuminated the deity through cracks in the roof.
One night, a mouse, searching for food, crept into the shrine. Scattered on the altar were remnants of an old ghee lamp, dried but still holding traces of oil and a blackened wick. The mouse, in its effort to nibble the wick, began pulling and gnawing it, unknowingly causing the tip of the wick to rub against a stone fragment.
Miraculously, a spark was born, and the old wick ignited, casting a faint light that fell upon the smiling face of Lord Nārāyaṇa’s image.
The Lord Accepts the Offering
Though the mouse had no intention to worship, the Lord took the accidental lighting of the lamp as an act of bhakti. For the first time in years, His form was illuminated in the shrine, and He smiled inwardly, pleased by the unconscious offering.
The mouse, surprised by the small fire, watched it flicker, then scurried away. That very night, a cat lurking nearby caught the mouse and killed it.
A Divine Escort Appears
At that moment, Viṣṇudūtas appeared in the sky, glowing with golden auras. They announced, “This mouse, though ignorant and bound by instinct, has lit a lamp that illuminated the face of the Supreme Lord. That accidental act, performed in the Lord’s temple, has purified him. He will now be delivered to the eternal realm.”
They lifted the mouse’s subtle body and carried it beyond the realms of material bondage to Vaikuṇṭha.
Lessons to Be Learned:
- Even a small, unintentional act done in connection with the Lord’s service can lead to liberation.
- The Lord accepts offerings not based on form or knowledge, but the connection to His service and presence.
- Worship of the Lord with lamps or light, even once, is considered immensely purifying.
- As glorified in the Padma Purāṇa: “ekaṁ govindam arcitvā yo mṛto yāti sad-gatim / kim punas tad bhakta-pūjāṁ kurvan jīvan sa yāti vai”
“One who even once worships Lord Govinda attains liberation at death—what then of one who regularly offers Him devotion in life?”
Origin of the Story: Padma Purāṇa – Stories section glorifying how lighting even one lamp for the Lord, consciously or not, brings liberation to the soul.
