water.. pure and divine

While doing pooja (worship of God) today I was just thinking over the reverential prayers we offer to the water and the even the pot of water ..

I think our people always realized the vital importance of the wholeness and unity of our India and her lifelines, the rivers..

A man in Kerala, or Tamilnadu or in the North offers prayers to all the rivers and water sources spread all over the vast Indian subcontinent, and requests all those holy waters to be present in the water we use to offer pooja to the Lord..

I thought I should share the mantrams with meanings just as a reminder..
Everyone who has performed poojas or watched poojas would have already heard these mantrams..

गङ्गायै नमः 

यमुनायै नमः 

गोदावर्यै नमः

 सरस्वत्यै नमः 

नर्मदायै नमः 

सिन्धवे नमः 

कावेर्यै नमः

gaṅgāyai namaḥ

 yamunāyai namaḥ 

godāvaryai namaḥ 

sarasvatyai namaḥ 

narmadāyai namaḥ 

sindhave namaḥ 

kāveryai namaḥ

Pranams to Ganga, Pranams to Yamuna, Pranams to Godavaree, Pranams to Saraswathi, Pranams to Narmda, Pranams to Sindhu, Pranams to Kaveri

आपो वा इदग्ँ सर्वं विश्वाभूतान्यापः
प्राणा वा आपः पशवः आपः अन्नमापः।
अमृतमापः च्छन्दाग्ँस्याप ज्योतीग्ँष्याप
यजूग्ँष्याप सत्यमाप सर्वा देवता आपः॥
ॐ भूर्भुवस्सुवराप ॐ श्री केशवाय नमः

āpo vā idagm sarvaṁ viśvābhūtānyāpaḥ
prāṇā vā āpaḥ paśavaḥ āpaḥ annamāpaḥ|
amṛtamāpaḥ cchandāgmsyāpa jyotīgmṣyāpa
yajūgmṣyāpa satyamāpa sarvā devatā āpaḥ ||
om bhūrbhuvassuvarāpa om śrī keśavāya namaḥ

All that is found in this world has origin in water, whatever is manifest as universe is water, water is the life-breath in us , all living beings are manifested in water, food is emanating from water, water is ambrosia (nectar) , water forms the vedas (chandaas) , water is the energy found in light, water is the yajus, water is the truth, all gods are manifested in water--
Om, I invoke water in the three worlds bhoo, bhuva and suvaH... OM I prostrate before the God with copious hair, kesava, the Lord Krishna

कलशस्य मुखे विष्णुः कण्ठे रुद्रः समाश्रितः।
मूले तत्र स्थितो ब्रह्मा मध्ये मातृगणाः स्मृताः॥
कुक्षौ तु सागराः सर्वे सप्तद्वीपा वसुन्धरा
ऋग्वेदो अथ यजुर्वेदः सामवेदोऽप्यथर्वणः
अङ्गैश्च सहिताः सर्वे कलशाम्भुसमाश्रिताः॥
गङ्गे च यमुने चैव गोदावरि सरस्वती
नर्मदे सिन्धु कावेरि जलेऽस्मिन् सन्निधिम् कुरु।
सर्वे समुद्राः सरितः तीर्थानि च ह्रदा नदः।
आयान्तु शिवपूजर्थम् दुरितक्षयकारकाः॥

kalaśasya mukhe viṣṇuḥ kaṇṭhe rudraḥ samāśritaḥ |
mūle tatra sthito brahmā madhye mātṛgaṇāḥ smṛtāḥ ||
kukṣau tu sāgarāḥ sarve saptadvīpā vasundharā
ṛgvedo atha yajurvedaḥ sāmavedo'pyatharvaṇaḥ
aṅgaiśca sahitāḥ sarve kalaśāmbhusamāśritāḥ||
gaṅge ca yamune caiva godāvari sarasvatī
narmade sindhu kāveri jale'smin sannidhim kuru|
sarve samudrāḥ saritaḥ tīrthāni ca hradā nadaḥ|
āyāntu śivapūjartham duritakṣayakārakāḥ||

Lord Vishnu resides on the face of this water pot,
Lord Rudra is present in its neck,
Lord Brahma is present at its base
and the Divine Mothers are there in the whole body of the holy pitcher of water
.
All the oceans are present in its belly region, along with Vasundhara the Mother Earth with all Her seven continents (Islands).

In the waters contained in the Kalasha or pot, all the four Vedas Rik, Yajur, Saman and Atharva with all their ancillary parts are present.

Mothers Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Sarasvati, Narmada, Sindhu, Kaveri, may you all be seated in your glorious presence here in this waterpot.

May all the seas, brooks, sources of holy waters, rivers flowing from east to west, and rivers flowing from west to east, who are all capable of removing all our sins and hardships,
manifest here to enable me to offer pooja to Lord Shiva ( Or Vishnu or any deity as the case may be,)

In fact, it should be a universal prayer.. we see no traces of any particular religions here..