The Hand That Rocks The Cradle Is The Hand That Rules The World

Goddess Durga (துர்கை), who is the fierce form of Goddess Devi, shows the duality inherent in all mothers. Devi is a loving, caring woman for her children, while Durga protects them from evil or corrects them when they go awry.

 

 

Blessings on the hand of women!

Angels guard its strength and grace,

In the palace, cottage, hovel,

Oh, no matter where the place;

Would that never storms assailed it,

Rainbows ever gently curled;

For the hand that rocks the cradle

Is the hand that rules the world.

 

Infancy's the tender fountain,

Power may with beauty flow,

Mother's first to guide the streamlets,

From them souls unresting grow--

Grow on for the good or evil,

Sunshine streamed or evil hurled;

For the hand that rocks the cradle

Is the hand that rules the world.

 

Woman, how divine your mission

Here upon our natal sod!

Keep, oh, keep the young heart open

Always to the breath of God!

All true trophies of the ages

Are from mother-love impearled;

For the hand that rocks the cradle

Is the hand that rules the world.

 

Blessings on the hand of women!

Fathers, sons, and daughters cry,

And the sacred song is mingled

With the worship in the sky--

Mingles where no tempest darkens,

Rainbows evermore are hurled;

For the hand that rocks the cradle

Is the hand that rules the world.

 

~ William Ross Wallace

 

 

This poem (of the photo's title) praises motherhood as the preeminent force for change in the world. The poem was first published in 1865 under the title "What Rules The World".

 

 

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