Having performed these pastimes there, the beautiful, dark-hued one then departed for the festival of Fuldol, going toward Panchala village.
He told all the sadhus to follow slowly behind, and, saying this, he mounted his chariot and set out for Sorath.
Along the way he passed through towns and villages, and fortunate men beheld Shyam.
He first came to the village of Piparadi, dear to the devotee Bhanji; a fine meal was quickly prepared, and Hari ate, seeing his devotion, then fed the sadhus, serving ghee himself.
Having pleased his devotee in this way, the imperishable one departed and came to Hathasani, staying the night; from there Prabhu departed the next morning.
He came to Jasdan, gave darshan to the town's ruler, stayed a short while, and rode on.
He came to a clear river at Aranya, sat and ate sweets there, then came to the village of Bandhiya.
He stayed two nights there, then departed at once and came to Gondal, bringing the multitude of devotees with him.
He stayed in a garden there, and Hari ate with his devotees — seven kinds of sweets, eggplant dishes, and fine khichdi.
He served the meal himself and fed the people, pleasing everyone; then the Beloved departed, riding without delay.
He came to a village and had a special meal prepared there, giving sweets to the sadhus by hand, performing many pastimes.
He stayed the night, then Bhagwan departed, giving darshan to the people; he came upon a good river in the countryside and ate there.
Then he fed his own devotees, Prabhuji being very pleased; from there he came to Kandorda village and gave darshan to the devotees.
He stayed the night at Jhanjhmer, prepared a meal with his own hand, and served it with great love, dispelling all fear there.
From there he rode on and stayed a short while at Upleta; then Life came to Jaliya, to the house of the devotee Hirabhai.
He stayed the night and ate there, then came to Ganod village; seeing a garden shaded by mango trees, he stayed there one night.
Having pleased the town's ruler, the Enchanter came to Manavadar, stayed four ghadi (about an hour and a half), then came to Panchala.
Blessed, blessed are the people of Panchala, whose hearts are pure and generous!
They had the Lord lodge in a fine home, and the men and women there kept their vows faithfully.
Some time passed, and then the merciful one departed; seeing him, the men and women rejoiced, and the Lord came to their home.
They fell at his feet with great love, their hearts overflowing; they spoke in choked voices, tears of love flowing from their eyes, forgetting their bodily awareness as they embraced Bhagwan.
Then Hari looked upon them with compassion, like nectar raining upon the dying.
They all became conscious again and spoke with Hari lovingly, saying, "Today we are fulfilled — with the Lord's coming, all our purposes are met.
Blessed is this hour, blessed this moment, that you have come, O support of our life; our merit is boundless, our fortune immense beyond measure — today the sorrows of many days are broken."
Saying this, they all fell at his feet.
Then he was given a fine seat, and meals of many kinds were prepared; Life was fed with great love, and then they asked Prabhu a question: "When will the group of women arrive — you have given us such joy today.
When will the company of sadhus come?"
Hearing this, Nath said, "The whole group will come tomorrow; the wanderer does not come uninvited."
Then the devotees said, folding their hands, "Call all the sadhus — nothing will be lacking, that is by your grace, Master."
Then Maharaj called the sadhus, and all of them came at once; lodging was given to the whole company, and the sadhus stayed outside the town.
A fine, continuous meal was prepared, given without hesitation; whoever asked for water was given ghee instead, whatever was needed was provided at once.
Nothing was ever lacking, and everyone ate what they liked; and as the sadhus ate, the more pleased their hearts became.
All the sadhus were content, and seeing the Beloved, the devotees were joyful; darshan continued all day long, with many questions and answers.
The Beloved spoke of many great things, and hearing them the men and women were delighted.
Thus sixteen days passed, and the festival of Fuldol drew near.
Groups came from every region and land, eager to have darshan; the village could not hold the people, and all lodged outside the town.
A great stage was set up there, with much equipment brought for play — kesu flowers, saffron, and abundant gulal, and colored powder was prepared.
Then Maharaj said to the sadhus, "Sing garba, stand up today," and the sadhus, filled with enthusiasm, composed a beautiful, colorful dance.
Watching Jivan and the people dance, he himself wished to join; wearing a fine waistband, his gold-brocaded robe shining, his head bound with a golden turban, he rose and tied his sash.
Coming among his companions, the beautiful Shyam danced with full joy, making graceful gestures and clapping, shining amid the sadhus.
Instruments played — drums and nagaras, and shehnais filled the air with sound.
The playful, garlanded, charming one danced amid a flood of color; seeing this, the people cried out in celebration, and even the immortals in the heavens looked on in wonder.
He put on an extraordinary display, and the people were filled with joy; Nath danced with them without tiring, and no one interrupted to stop him.
It seemed the game would go on unbroken, showing no sign of weariness; then the Beloved thought to himself, "Today everyone will lose and go home exhausted — how will they play tomorrow?"
Knowing this, the Beloved, out of love, said, "Sadhus, rest from play today, and save your strength to play tomorrow."
Having performed these pastimes that day with his people, Life passed the night in this joy; he slept and awoke the next morning.
Coming and sitting on his couch, Govind said, "Bring the worship materials, sadhus."
Then the sadhus brought fine articles of worship — perfume, saffron, and sandal paste — and applied them to the Beloved's body, anointing his feet with great enthusiasm.
Then colored water was called for, and the Beloved threw it upon his companions' bodies; a great shower of color was made, gulal was thrown and filled their eyes.
Then a companion took color in hand and threw it upon the Beloved's head; then Giridhari became fully drenched and at once mounted his horse.
He then rode out to the town, with thousands upon thousands of companions.
Coming and sitting on the stage, Maharaj said, "Listen, all you sadhus — bring color, I will sprinkle it with my own hand on whoever remains before me."
Then the Beloved took the color and sprinkled it upon everyone there; then, filling a bag with gulal, Nath threw it and colored the whole company of sadhus.
Gulal rose and covered the sky, hiding the sun in its cloud.
Then Maharaj said to the sadhus, "Now play among yourselves."
"A fine pool of color has been prepared — form two teams and play joyfully."
Then the companions made themselves ready, and Bhagwan watched the game unfold; syringes of color passed back and forth, and colored water sprayed everywhere.
It seemed as if the monsoon clouds of Ashadh had come, and floods filled the ditches; a great downpour of color fell, and mud formed as if from a heavy shower.
Thus the sadhus played among themselves, with many instruments sounding there; in the contest none would yield, and shouts of "victory, victory" rang out.
Having made such a splendid game, the Beloved then said, seeing it, "Sadhus, enough playing now — it is growing late for the meal.
Come, let us all go to bathe together," he said, clapping his hands.
Then he himself mounted and rode, and his companions went with him joyfully; the garments he had worn were all dyed with color.
He gave them to Jhinabhai after bathing, and thus Nath came back having bathed; then a meal was prepared for the people, and after resting a while, Life ate.
For the sadhus, fine laddus and vermicelli sweets had been prepared; Nath served these in the row himself, feeding the people with his own hand.
The people ate with great joy, and yet, however much they ate, the food never ran short; then Murari took the laddus and gave them to the whole assembly, remembering each one.
Thus the Beloved performed these pastimes, all arranged single-handedly by Jhinabhai, giving everyone manifold happiness through the pastimes told here in part.