King Abhay meets Narayan Muni.
King Abhay meets Narayan Muni.
Suvrat said:-
O King, having obtained the letter mentioning the arrival of the Lord at Karyayan town, King Abhay happily told his men about this and got ready to go there. 1.
By the grace of Shri Hari, the King, having got rid of fear of enemies, came to that town on speedy chariots with a few soldiers
and relatives the same day. 2.
Pleased at the arrival of King Abhay, King Khatwang honoured that intimate friend of his deservedly and arranged for his and his men’s stay. 3.
Then the royal-sage Khatwang took the King to the Lord immediately, for the latter had brought with him the offerings necessary for Krishna-worship and was eager to have His Darshan along with his men. 4.
Having seen Sri Krishna actually in human form as he had heard, surrounded by thousands of ascetics and commoners, he was delighted and happily prostrated before Him. 5.
Shri Hari, the inner self of all, who is the wish yielding tree that fulfils the wishes of His devotees, honoured King Abhay and his relatives who were all well acquainted with the greatness of Shri Hari through King Khatwang. 6.
With great devotion they worshipped the Lord seated on the throne by offering clothes, various invaluable ornaments, flower garlands and sandal paste. 7.
With ardent devotion they waved lamps before him and offered salutations to the adorable Lord. With folded-hands, fixing their sight at the generous Lord, they exalted Him respectfully. 8.
Abhay eulogizes Shri Hari.
Abhay and others said:-
‘O one who is born to protect the noble religion, O Virtuous Lord, O oppressor of the groups of demons by thy might, O one who is saving the devotees from heretic ways, O tranquility personified, be victorious O Nilakanth! 9.
O magnificent one who ought to be meditated upon with devotion by men for emancipation in this Kali age, O ocean of forbearance and treasure of compassion… 10.
O one who takes His devotees to divinely Goloka, O Lord! One who always upholds the tradition of intent devotion, one who promulgates the auspicious philosophy of Sankhyayoga… 11.
One who destroys the blemishes of irreligion, Maya, Kali and occasional impurities of devotees with nine modes of devotion like listening to your glorious exploits, one who is ever dedicated to noble acts, one who is splendidly attired… 12.
O Great sage who has promoted the art of yoga, O master- ascetic with uncountable qualities and excellences, O Lord that bestows fearlessness and gives boons, O of heavenly form… 13.
Pondering upon whom expunges the inner foes like passion, He of the epithet of evaporating the stream of sins of his devotees, He that is capable of removing ignorance and bestowing knowledge. 14.
O son of Hariprasada! HariKrishna, Krishna, O master! Hari! Dedicated to performing penances, O Narayan, O son of Premavati. 15.
Thy exploits are divinely dignified, O free-willed! Thy feet are adored by Brahmarshis and Rajarshis (Royal sages), O Shri Swaminarayan! O Master-mentor! Peace-incarnate, we hail the Nilakanth. 16.
You are Sri Krishna yourself, O Nilakanth. Moved by compassion at the sight of those entangled in the transmigratory ocean, you took birth as a mortal upon your own volition. 17.
Hail the Lord of devotees, of intense compassion, O one having fulfilled all the desires, O Vishnu (all pervading) whose feet are savoured by celestials and their King Indra, one capable of bestowing all desired fruits, O Jishnu the all conquering one. 18.
O Mukunda, you are the inner self of sentient and insentient, you are the cause of the world’s creation, sustenance and destruction, you of the grand lustre that transcends the dark mass of Prakrti (primordial nature) … Who is competent enough to extol your virtues? 19.
You are the phenomenon behind extinguishing and pacifying the fire of worldly miseries and you are the abode of happiness which we wish to seek. Let our mind be adhered to your form that showers grace generously. 20.
You show compassion with that gentle smile of yours emitting gleaming rays, your cheeks glow splendidly with the sparkle of the pendants on your ears, your crest line radiates the expansive environs. Let our mind-bee pursue your lotus-face. 21.
Upon your most auspicious forehead-mark with its holy rice grains, and beautiful eyebrows with its guile, with eyes wide and broad in the moon like face, let our eyes like Chakora birds play. 22.
Suvrat said:-
Thus extolled, the devotee-loving Lord was very well pleased. He gave desired assurance of protection to those seekers of liberation. 23.
Then the King having saluted Him again prayed thus: ‘O Lord, you are able to fulfill this servant’s wish.’ 24.
‘O God, I have come with my relatives to take you to Durgapattanam along with your followers. Hope my request will be granted now.’ 25.
The Lord said: ‘I know you and your relatives’ honest wish. I will certainly visit your town.’ 26.
‘I have been promised Khatwang that my stay here would be till the commencement of Madhumasa (Chaitra). Hence, I shall not start right away.’ 27.
‘Hence O King, I will be coming with ascetics and others for performing flower-swing festival in your town for sure.’ 28.
After that, King Abhay told Shri Hari thus. ‘Till then I will stay here with my men and will accompany you to my place’. 29.
Having said thus the King being permitted by Shri Hari, stayed there determined, with his wife son and daughter. 30.
Now he concluded his vow of fasting (on alternate days) after Krishna Darshan. He thought of himself as having fulfilled his cherished desire, along with his son and others. 31.
The King sent his brother-in-law named Galav to take care of his household, and stayed back to engage himself in service of Shri Hari all day. 32.
Shri Hari Performing sacrifices; encouraging charitable work.
Lodged in Khatwang’s house, Swaminarayan persuaded people to a dig pond for the comfort of all living creatures. 33.
Generous Khatwang himself donated all the money, gold, silver etc. to the Lord. 34.
The Lord conducted a grand sacrifice there in the name of Vishnu (Visnuyaga) as done earlier in Pippalagrama, rendering people awestruck. 35
O King, people from different places used to throng there in thousands with offerings in their hands. They went ecstatic at their good fortune of meeting with Him. 36.
He appointed eminent Kshatriyas like Soma, Sura, Mantra, Alarka and Jiva in prominent positions to administer the event of the Yajna. 37.
The ascetic-Supreme offered many Brahmins with various sweet delicacies and appeased them with presents in gold and other valuable articles. 38.
Thereafter, performing Atirudra Yagna grandly, he pleased the Vedic Brahmins in the thousands. 39.
He, the protector of ideals of religion that was fast declining with the passage of time, concluded the pertinent rites of sacrifice on Vasant Panchami day. 40.
Thus the Brahmins who were appeased with rich presents and commoners that saw this great sacrifice sang in praise of His excellence. Even the royal personages were wonderstruck to hear this. 41.
Thus ends the twenty eighth chapter entitled ‘Narration of King Abhay meeting, worshipping and extolling of Sri Narayan ‘ in the second Prakarana of Satsangijivan, an the life story of Lord Narayan, also titled as ‘Dharmashastra’ (the rules of the code of conduct). 28
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