Then the compassionate one, giver of happiness, came from Kutch to Panchal, taking two or four sadhus with him, coming first to the land of Halar. He gave darshan village by village, making everyone feel fulfilled. Then he came to Sardhar, where the Kathi devotees of Hari came to him.
From there Maharaj set off and came to stay at Piparadi; the next day he came to Botad, delighting Ade Bhaga's household with affection. He stayed two days there, showing grace, at the homes of Somla and Mantra. Then from there he came to Kariyani, where it rained heavily.
There lived the devotee Mancho Virdas; Hari stayed there four months. Devotees of Hari came from Gadhada, their bodies thin from renunciation. Devotees came from country after country, to behold the imperishable one with their eyes. They came from Vagad, Kutch, Halar, Sorath, Valak, from Panchal and Gholvad, from Bhal, Gujarat, and Zalawad; a group also came from Surat, deeply immersed in devotion, colored with love.
Everyone who came fell at Hari's feet; beholding the Lord, they could not be satisfied. All the sadhus who had gathered were assembled from Ahmedabad.
Then, having performed worship of the Lord, Hari ate together with many. Dressed in beautiful garments, the dark one gave joyous darshan to his devotees. He spoke of transcendent things, dispelling everyone's doubts. Each day he went to the lake, having a reservoir dug in the people's presence.
Singing and conversing, he would return home, and each day such divine play continued. Girdharji rode a fine horse, and a ceremonial fan was waved as men and women watched.
Then Maharaj had a sacrifice performed, inviting Brahmins to eat. Forty cooking-hearths were set up by the lake, and the Lord of the world rode about on horseback. The Brahmins ate and were given gifts of money, and then he gave everyone instruction. In that fine year, on the thirteenth day of the dark half of Ashwin — on that day Bhagwan performed the sacrifice, a thing never before seen with the eyes or heard with the ears.
Then came the day of Diwali, and Hari was pleased with the people, granting darshan day and night, speaking with them at great length. Having thus held celebrations of joy, Hari then spoke to the sadhus: "Listen, sadhus, all together — now form two companies. One of you go to Navanagar, the other go to the city of Surat."
Then the sadhus went to both cities, keeping the divine image lovingly established in their hearts — the charming, plume-adorned, captivating one they kept, colorful, in their hearts. Meditating on him inwardly, the sadhus set off, remaining vigilant. The dark one continued to show his wonders, giving darshan again to everyone.
From there the Beloved went to Vadhvan, to bring about the fulfillment of Dave Tulsi's vow — Tulsi had vowed to perform a sacrifice, and this vow did not go unfulfilled nor was the money wasted. From there the beautiful dark one set off and came to the village of Ramgadi, giving darshan lovingly to the devotees; then he came from Dadhuka to Machhiyav, then to Vachhiyavi and Modasar, and from there came to Jetalpur, staying one night there, the all-accomplishing one. Then he came to the village of Dabhan, then went to Pij and Nadiad, and afterward stayed at Umreth.
There lived the devotee Rupram; the Lord came to his home. He stayed there a full seven days, showing great power there; meditation and concentration arose in abundance, and, seeing it, men and women formed firm conviction.
Then Shyam set off from there, going onward and returning again; he ate at the home of one who had earlier prepared a meal for him, the giver of life eating at his house. Giving darshan, the compassionate one went onward, and came to the village of Changa; the devotee Nathu Lakhe welcomed him there, and from there the Lord came to the village of Ronya.
He had a certain shrine custom there set aside, and had its keeper dressed anew in fine garments; then all the townsfolk gathered, and, weeping, had the old order changed. From there he came to the village of Bochasan, to the home of the devotee Kashidasji; from there, riding a carriage, the greatly renowned one came to Budhej, the all-knowing one.
Hathibhai had had a dream, and the darshan occurred exactly as in the dream. From there he came again to Jetalpur, and everyone came, hearing of it, for his darshan. Children, elders, and the young — all came together for darshan, and the people said, "Welcome, giver of life! Tomorrow is the day of Uttarayan."
Then the Lord said, "Call the Brahmins; let a full maund of ghee be sent for, that they may eat." At first the arrangement was made for one maund; then, on inquiry, it came to five hundred. As the people kept asking further, the giver of life kept increasing the amount. First the invitation, then afterward the provisions — thus was the preparation for the sacrifice made.
This is indeed a matter of divine wonder — the sadhus who witnessed it directly know this. Thus the Lord resolved upon it, and began the undertaking without delay. Ghee, jaggery, and wheat were gathered and ground; large sweets were fried and sent out. Sweets were made and the storehouse filled with laddus, and a vast array of other provisions was gathered.
The sacrifice at Jetalpur was thus begun; Brahmins were called and invited together. A pavilion was constructed according to Vedic rite, and a sacrificial pit built for offering ghee. Brahmins recited in the pavilion, offering libations of ghee there, chanting mantras and offering unbroken oblations — the sacrifice was performed fully according to rite.
The Brahmins ate without any lack; "Eat, brothers," Swami himself urged them to eat. Such huge sweets were served — "Eat well, even if your bodies tire from it." "Even if you should die while eating, this would be spoken of with pride in our family" — the Brahmins ate with great enthusiasm, their minds filled with the greatest delight. Rows upon rows of diners sat, uncountable — thousands upon thousands of Brahmins ate.
The provisions, though eaten with such vigor, never ran short; the Brahmins ate and ate until their bodies were satisfied. Thus they ate for eighteen days, after which the sacrifice was brought to completion. The compassionate one gave gifts and donations, upholding the Vedic rites fully.
Thus was the great sacrifice completed; Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras all ate. No one was left without a meal; food was given abundantly, without discrimination. As they ate, the people cried out "Victory! Victory!" and exclaimed "Blessed, blessed!" People had come from country after country, and, beholding the Lord, were overjoyed.
There Maharaj was asked a question, and in answering it the learned Brahmins felt abashed. Shyam's face grew slightly downcast in modesty, and he did not speak further, though he had held it all within. Then he gave instruction to everyone; such was the divine play Shrimaharaj performed. The seventh day of the bright half of Posh is auspicious — let the devotees of Hari hold this in their hearts.
On that day the sacrifice was completed, and all the sadhus were pleased. The wicked had believed no sacrifice could take place, yet the Lord had brought it about without any obstacle. Having performed the sacrifice, the giver of life set off, giving darshan in the western region. The news spread through the whole world, and people said, "Swami Shri Hari is God manifest."
Hearing this, the wicked-minded burned with resentment, saying, "The sacrifice was performed out of ignorance — the ascetics do not truly know what they are doing; had they known better, they would not have performed such a sacrifice. Now let us all unite as one order — how else can we counter this gathering he draws?
A day of reckoning will come for such assemblies — this is what Swamiji's followers say. We would spend even lakhs of rupees on this cause, but we will not let his path continue." Thus they conspired among themselves, but Maharaj knew what was in their minds.
He said to all the sadhus, "Let us perform a sacrifice once more." Then the devotees of Hari were called, and they gathered and came to Jetalpur. He stayed there two or four days, then went to the village of Khokhrad, along with the paramhansas and sannyasis, the days passing in joy and enthusiasm.
The satsangis all gathered together, hearing that a festival would be held. Beholding the Lord, everyone was made happy, and he gave darshan, being greatly pleased. The village could not hold the whole gathering, so the sadhus went to sleep outside; they sang kirtans and made merry, and the people came joyfully for darshan.
Thus celebrations of joy continued, and every day they went to bathe at Kankari. Singing and conversing they would return, and thus much divine play took place. Whenever the Lord spoke, he revealed much of his great power, foretelling something of past and future, giving indications without withholding.
He said, "We shall certainly hold a sacrifice; there is no other town like this one. The village itself is too cramped, so the fire-offering will be held at the edge of the village. Everyone will come to know of it, and will say that this sacrifice was well performed." As Hari spoke thus, hearing him the people were overjoyed.