CHAPTER – 2

The King Pratapasimha said:-

‘O Brahmin! I loved to listen to the life story of Lord Krishna from the bottom of my heart. Even after listening it attentively, I don’t feel myself contented. Now I wish to listen to the life story of the Supreme Self, Shri Hari, who removes pain and affliction of his devotees. It should be the one which will arouse curiosity in me. 1-2.

Please tell me about those persons who were constantly occupied in His service and also tell me what kind of service each one was engaged in. O Muni! You should tell me all the details about the daily routine of Shri Hari, while He was residing in Durgapur’. 3-4.

Suvrat said:-

O King! ‘A religious student named Mukundanand, after performing his bodily purification every day, used to attend to Him for all His requirements. He, was the one who was free from passion . He used to attend to His bath and pressed His feet and also made His bed, etc. 5-6.

Every morning and evening, Jaya, the elder sister of the king who was pious and devout, brought fresh and filtered water for Him. 7.

Another Brahmin disciple named Narayananand looked after His jar of (drinking) water, glass and offered water to Him whenever needed. O King! Gopalanand, every day, used to wash those articles of worship, which Shri Hari used for the worship of Lord Krishna. 8 - 9.

Brahmin devotee, Vasudevanand, regularly made sandalwood paste for worshipping Lord Krishna. 10.

Umabhaya and Nathajit, the two devotees used to bring various kinds of flowers and basil leaves every day from garden. 11.

Akhandanand used to bring all the materials of worship and used to offer them promptly as and when called for. 12.

Everyday Lalita, sister of the King (Uttam) offered food items, together with purified ghee, oil, milk and sugar. Panchali, wiped the kitchen floor and his younger sister Nani cleaned the house. 13-14.

Somadevi and Suraprabha, the King’s mothers daubed the house with cow dung and white clay. 15.

Dayanand and Govindanand used to bring samidha i.e. holy wooden sticks, and kusha grass from the forest for Him. Haraji and Utkara used to bring vegetables and plantain leaves from the garden and Mayajit brought firewood / fuel for cooking. 16-17.

Ratnaji washed cooking utensils and Hammirji brought holy clay for that purpose. Gurumanaji brought denture cleaning sticks (babhul) for Him and the chief Brahmin Shivram guarded His (wooden) footwear. 18-19.

Mayaram, who was of pure mind, took care of his apparel and gave Him those when needed. A devout celibate named Jayananda, everyday respectfully washed His clothes. 20 - 21.

Labdha and Haraji, two ministers of the King, who had good understanding, looked after the financial matters of Shri Hari. Hemantasinha, who enjoyed serving Shri Hari, engaged himself in guiding the householders to perform their respective duties properly. 22 - 23.

As and when it was necessary, King Uttam who was very unassuming, attended Him all through. Ramadas who was the leader of the disciples, appointed the devotees and used to monitor their respective duties when needed. 24 - 25.

After lunch, a puranik (a reciter of the Puranas) named Prayagaji narrated the stories from Mahabharata, Puranas and Dharmashastra (religious scriptures) before Him. 26.

At night, Nityanand recited Bhagavat, Bhagavad Gita, Vishnusahasranama and Vasudevamahatmya. Shukanand muni, who always accompanied Shri Hari, used to write letters and take care of his books. 27 - 28.

Shatanand, a learned scholar, composed this beautiful work Satsangijivanam, elaborately describing Shri Hari‘s exploits, which is itself the life force of the devotees of Shri Hari, and which was overflown, with love of the holy sports of Shri Hari (Hari- Leela). Having seated before Him, he also carefully edited the eight scriptures written by Shri Hari. 29 - 30.

Gopalanand engaged himself in serving Shri Hari by guiding the ascetics to carry out their respective duties in the establishment of the religion and other things. 31.

Exceptionally intelligent as they were, Muktanand and Brahmanand had studied all the Shastras, (religious scriptures) and they were also well versed in music and poetics. In order to please Shri Hari, they also composed works on metrics in various meters in Prakrit language, which described the virtues of Shri Hari. 32 - 33.

Premanand, expert in music and also in (playing) the four types of musical instruments, composed works in Prakrit, narrating virtues of Shri Hari. 34.

Poet Niskulanand, Dhyananand and Sunderjeet and other devotees, also composed works in Prakrit language. Dinanatha served him by composing Sanskrit Ashtakas (a poem of eight stanzas) in various meters, in praise of Shri Hari, the Lord of the good people. 35-36.

O King! Five learned scholars named Govindanand, Abhedanand, Gunatitanand, Shivanand and Prajnanand served him by reciting devotional songs in praise of Krishna. 37-38.

The three devotees Mahanubhavanand, Atmanand and Svayamprakashanand who were expert in their respective professions, received with proper hospitality, those devotees who were very anxious to take the holy ‘Darshan’ of Shri Hari. 39 - 40. 

Every day, the seven pious sages, Niranjananand, Vyapakanand, Sukhanand, Paramchaitanyanand, Govindanand, Kripanand, Chaitanyanand, respectfully welcomed and informed the whereabouts of Shri Hari to the visitors coming from various cities. 41 - 43.

O Mahamati! Anandanand told different types of expressing devotions towards God and advised erection and building temples of Lord Krishna. The sculptors Devaram, Narayan, Heer and Adharanand prepared paintings and idols. 44 - 45.

Maheshwara and Damodaradas, made arrangements for the proper living accommodation of the women folk who came from other countries. Rama, a self-disciplined young female ascetic, accomplished with religious knowledge, gave discourses on Shri Krishna before them. 46 - 47.

Krishnadas and Rajadasa, two famous barbers held torches at night time before Shri Hari. 48.

Karim, an old man, worked as a doorkeeper and frequently, communicated with those who used to visit Him. 49.

O! King! Soma, Sura, Bhruguji, Manasinha, Kesari, Veera, Alaya, Laksha Jalma, Ravji, Manji, Kam and other two hundred Kshatriyas who held swords in their hands always followed Shri Hari. 50 -51.. 

Thus, they all rejoiced in rendering their services to the Lord which they considered as a rare opportunity to achieve final emancipation, which is the final objective of human existence. 52.

Thus ends the second chapter entitled, ‘Description of the various services rendered to Shri Hari ‘ in the third Prakaran of Satsangi jivan, the life story of Lord Narayan, also titled as Dharmashastra, (the rules of the code of conduct). 2