Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Saturday that the point where the Chandrayaan-3 lander touched down on the lunar surface would be named Shiv Shakti.
He situated the naming of the mission’s landing point in the civilisational ethos of India, and its eternal mission to ensure the welfare of all humanity.
He also linked the name with “Naari Shakti”, the power of Indian women, so many of whom, he underlined, had made enormous contributions to the success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission.
“Shiva mein maanavata ke kalyan ka sankalp samaahit hai, aur Shakti se hamein un sankalpon ko poora karne ka saamarthya milta hai. Chandrama ka Shiv Shakti Point, Himalaya ke Kanyakumari se jude hone ka bodh karaata hai,” the Prime Minister said.
(The humanitarian resolve is integral to the concept of Shiva, and it is from Shakti that we get the ability to fulfil that resolve. Shiv Shakti Point on the Moon gives the sense of the unity of India from Kanyakumari to the Himalayas.)
“Our sages have said, the commitment with which we fulfil our duties, give momentum to our ideas and science, let that be linked with our commitment to welfare.”
To fulfil this auspicious resolve, he said, it is imperative to obtain the blessings of Shakti. “And this Shakti is our Naari Shakti. Our mothers and daughters. It is said that Naari Shakti lies at the core of everything from Creation to Destruction. All of you have seen what a major role our women scientists have played in the Chandrayaan-3 mission…,” he said.
“Chandrama ka Shiv Shakti Point sadiyon tak Bharat ke iss vaigyanik aur darshanik chintan ka sakshi banega,” he said. (Shiv Shakti Point will forever bear witness to this scientific and philosophical thought of Bharat.)
“Shiv Shakti Point will inspire the coming generations to use science for the welfare of humanity. The welfare of humanity, this is our supreme commitment,” he said.
