Hemantasinh extols Lord Narayana.
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King Hemantasinh said:-
‘O Lord Narayan, obeisance to you who are supreme among the gods, the abode of compassion, the cause of all, beyond all ignorance, beloved to the devotees and full of wonderful qualities. 1.
‘O Lord Narayan, obeisance to you, whose appearance is pleasing, who is wearing a white garment and a garland of flowers and has a crest of beautiful flowers hanging (from his head). 2.
‘O Lord Narayan, obeisance to you, who is the abode of the good destination called Brahman, who is being attended to by your own emancipated devotees, who is at the center of the mass of white resplendence. 3.
‘O Lord Narayan, obeisance to you who is peaceful and full of restraint, who appreciates penance, who is pure, accomplished and beyond bad qualities and the sole expounder of piety. 4.
‘O Lord Narayan, obeisance to you who observes the vow of Nama without any longing, who follows the vow of Nama without any desire, who is devoted to the vow of nama without any expectation. 5.
‘O Lord Narayan, obeisance to you who is the destroyer of all misery, who is the illuminator and giver of the greatest bliss and the remover of all sins. 6.
‘O Lord Narayan, obeisance to you who is the best of men, the support of all, remover of the suffering of the souls who resort to you, who is a god well inclined towards Brahmins and a great Lord. 7.
‘O Lord Narayan, obeisance to you who is being served by a great multitude of sages, who is full of faith, compassion and forgiveness, who is eternal and ever-active for the deliverance of souls. 8.
‘O Lord, by coming over here, you have completely fulfilled my heart’s long-standing desire. 9.
‘O Lord, it is my prayer now that my ancient (capital) Durgapur is not very far from here; you please make it holy (by visiting it) 10.
Thousands of (its) citizens will get the fulfillment of their life by having a glimpse of you’. To that Lord Narayan replied- 11.
If this is so, ‘O king, I shall go to that city right today. That will fulfill your wish and it will be a pilgrimage to me.’ 12.
Shri Hari arrives in Junagadh along with saints and devotees.
So assured (by the Lord), that King Pratapsimah promptly acted; being overjoyed, (he) became ready to depart to Juagadha along with his brother Anupsimha and relatives in their carriages then and there. 13.
O king ! Then Shri hari came to Junagadha. Along with many horse riders and king Uttam, Jayaba, Lalitaba, Somlakhachar, Rampratapji Iccharamji, Muktanand swami act. 14
Though being requested by devotees at every village on the way to stay, he never stopped anywhere; (he) only pleased them by his appearance. 15.
‘O king, that very day, reaching old Durgapur by the evening, he stayed at the auspicious mansion of Hemantasinh. 16.
Hemantasinh, accompanied by his kith and kin speeding on their respective horses, reached the capital ahead (of the Lord) and was busy with services required to receive the Lord. 17.
The Brahmins Ramaji, Ambasankar, Rupasankar, Gokul, Uddhav and others attended to him. 18.
Considering himself blessed, the king, with those (Brahmins) and citizen-devotees, arranged for a befitting hospitality. 19.
Then he made a pilgrimage on a no-moon day to mount Raivatak, praising it that it was God’s own land. 20.
Taking a holy bath in a pool called Damodar, which has a supply of Ganga in the form of a Gomukh, ‘O king, the Lord gave away great charities as per the rites. 21. He then worshipped Damodar and thereafter, with great devotion, worshipped Mahadeva. 22.
He offered feasts to Brahmins in hundreds and thousands, and gave them munificent Dakshina that greatly satisfied them all. 23.
The numerous Brahmins in that city went to him to seek refuge. Implored by them, the Lord stayed there till the full-moon day of Chaitra. 24.
On the first day of the year, the citizens offered him worship with flowers, sandalwood, new garments and coins etc. 25.
And that great devotee king, informed about the Lord’s birthday, performed worship of him on the ninth day very gladly. 26.
(He worshipped) with costly white garments, beautiful gold ornaments, pure sandalwood ointments, (holy) rice (aksata) and red-coloured kumkum. 27.
He also worshipped him with wreaths of flowers, perfumes, limps of different varieties and different eatables and sweet fruits. 28.
Putting before him a plate full of silver (coins) he performed the following Aarti in six couplets (satpadi)- 29.
Aarti of Krishna.
‘Victory unto you, ‘O Narayan, the creator of the auspicious, the protector of the sages, the dispeller of the fear of Kali impurities, (This is burden of the song)
‘You have the body-complexion of shining white, beautified by a mass of splendor; you are being attended to by numerous emancipated (Souls); you are creator of bliss and great pace; you are being prayed to by hordes of gods; you are the reservoir of compassion; you are the highest Brahman; you are the super-soul beyond all characteristics,’ ‘Victory unto you. 30.
‘I pray to you, who has assumed a human form on the earth to protect Bhagavata Dharma, which is constantly imperiled by God’s enemies. I pray to you, whom the sages have resorted to and who is the greatest observer of holy vows.’ (‘Victory unto’—etc.) 31.
‘As the sun dispels darkness with its brilliance, you dispel, with your prowess, the evil influence of alcohol, flesh-eating and promiscuity. Removing the fear of your devotees, you have kept them safe from the path of heresy and have vanquished them of pride and cultivated (in them) the love for God.’ (‘Victory unto you’—etc.,) 32.
‘I have you in my heart; picturing your blessings and assurance with both your hands. ‘O Lord, who has a dark complexion, who wears a white garment and a white thread, who is smiling gently, whose face is luminous like the autumnal full moon and who is the abode of all auspicious virtues’, ‘Victory be unto you.’ 33.
‘I praise you joined by my people after your worship, who is wearing on his forehead a beautiful mark of saffron with Aksata and is adorned with various charming garlands of flowers, sandalwood and saffron. ‘Victory unto you—etc.. 34.
‘May my intellect find repose day and night in you, ’O lotuseyed. ‘O Krishna, ‘O Hari, ‘O victorious, ‘O greatest among the pious Vishnu, protect me always as I have taken shelter at your feet.’ ‘Victory unto you—etc., 35.
After having offered Aarti in this way, the king circumambulated the Lord and saluted him, falling prostrate at his feet like a stick and stood before him with folded hands. 36.
Removing the garlands from his neck, the Lord gave them to the King as his great blessing. The king accepted them as such and was greatly pleased. 37.
Causing the people to wonder, the Lord then with generosity, offered to the Brahmins garments, ornaments and wealth. 38.
In the assembly, almost every day, he offered discourses on the dharma-shastras, reinforced with devotion to Krishna and thus delighted the Brahmins. 39.
The Lord of the good, from the twelfth day to the full-moon day, satisfied the Brahmins (with feasts) of the eatables of their choice. 40.
Ramapratap and Iccharam leave for Dwarika.
On the twelfth day the Lord, while he was in the assembly in the afternoon, explained to them all the greatness of Dwarika. 41.
On hearing that Ramapratap and Iccharam said that, if he so permitted, they would immediately undertake pilgrimage to Dwarika. 42.
On hearing this, and knowing their piety, he gave them the permission and immediately provided the necessities required for their journey. 43.
On the thirteenth day, he dispatched them to Dwarika after giving them a lot of money and two horses and two carriages. 44.
He also sent Mayaram along with them, someone who knew the route and other details; he provided weapon-bearing foot- soldiers. 45.
He forbade many others like those from Kosala country who were eager to go with them (to Dwarika), knowing the severity of heat in the season in that country. 46.
On the first day (Pratipad) the Lord, after partaking food with his followers, soon left that capital of the king, assuaging the king and others of their sadness on account of the departure. 47.
A person, who with devotion hears or reads this narrative, is blessed with pure faith in Krishna and is freed from all bondages of mundane life. 48.
Thus ends the twenty third chapter entitled ‘Description of events during Narayan Muni’s stay at Durgapur’ in the fourth Prakaran of Satsangijivan, the life story of Lord Narayan, also titled as ‘Dharmashastra’ (the rules of the code of conduct). 23
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