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Nov. 1, 1872.]
NARAYAN SWAMI.
333
trancing whomsoever he cast his eyes upon and against him by the Brahmans, who so stirred up causing them in this meymeric state (aamddhi) to against him the Peshwa's government that he was imagine they saw Sahajanand as Krishna with obliged for a time to leave Ahmadabad. yellow robes, weapons of war and other cha- Sahajânand performed the yagna called Maracteristics of the god, and to behold him seated hârudra-mor-sacrifice to Agni at Gamadas chief in an assembly of devatds. The story of bhân, at Kariyani, and at Jetalpur near Ahmadhis working this supposed miracle reached the abad, and repeated it at Dabhana near Vadtal ears of Râmânand who discredited it and put a few miles from Nadiyâd. At Jetalpur, says Sahajanand to the test, but he was thrown into the last quoted authority, "Nârâyan became the the same state, and thus convinced, placed him subject of obloquy for induciog some to forsake at the head of his disciples, and at his death, six their wives and homes and become Sådhus." months afterwards, left the gâdi of Acharya to In S. 1868 (A.D. 1811) he went to Gadbala, him He then went to Kachh where he made in the Bhaunagar state, und there converted many disciples of the Malla caste, among whom Dâdâ Ebhal Kachar a Kathi who owned the were the Raja Rao Saheb's carpenters; also many fourth part of the revenues of that village. of the Mama class of Kunbis, respecting whom Here the Swami lived in the house of his Kathi one of the priests of the sect gives the following disciple and made about 800 converts among account:
whom were 300 Sadhus and Brahmacharis, 300 "These people professed the Musalman religion. palas attendants in the temple, and about 150 . It seems that about 370 years ago, the principal men females called Sankhyayogi (female devotees). of the class started on a pilgrimage to Banaras, to the In the year 8.1876 (A.D. 1819) he sent a Sâdnumber of about 5,000. As they were going hu named Brahmanand to Ahmadabad, and had a through the Gujarati country, they came to Piranu, temple built there in which was placed an image a famous Musalman place, where there was a dis
of Nêranêrêyan. This is a large temple and is tinguished fakir living, and there they stopped to
reckoned one of the principal ones of Swami Nâråspend the night. The fakîr enquired of them whither they were going. They answered. We are yan. Afterwards temples were built (S. 1878) going to K As'i.' The fakir then said, 'If I bring at Bhuj in Kachh, at Vadtal near Nadiyâd in your Kâs'i here, will you do all I tell you ?' They | Gujarat, and at Junagadh in Borath, and images said they would. Then, on the following morning, were placed in them: these received the names of in the place where they had passed the night, what Radha and Krishna. Then a temple was built sbould they behold but K&s'i itself! Then they all at Dholera, enshrining an image called Madan bathed in the Gangos. After remaining there three i
Mohan. Domed temples were also erected at days, Kås'i became invisible. The fakir then commanded them all to become Musalmans. They ac
Jotalpur, Dholka, and Muliye; and "temples cordingly complied, agreeing to worship after the
without domes are to be seen everywhere throughMusalman fashion, to bury the dead, and to ratify out the provinces of Kathiâwâd, Kachh, and their marriage contracts in presence of a fakir Gujarat." only they would not break caste. When these peo- It was at Emad on the 25th March 1825 that ple saw the marvellous acts of Swami Narayan,
Bishop Heber learnt from the Collector, Mr. many of them embraced the Hindu religion as
Williamson, that some good had been done taught by him. From that time they have performed their marriage eeremonies under the direc
among the wild Kolis "by the preaching and tion of Brahmans, have performed Srûddhas in
popularity of the Hindu reformer, Swami Narahonour of ancestors, and burned the bodies of their yan." We give the greater portion of his account dead." +
in his own words :When he first arrived at Ahmadabad about "His morality was said to be far better than any 1804, he was aocompanied by his gurubhdu which could be learned from the Shastra. He Ramanand, and several other Sádhus ; and for &
presched a great degree of purity, forbidding his time he continued to make disciples, and dis
disciples so much as to look on any woman whom seminate his principles.
they passed. He condemned theft and bloodshed : It is said that he first forbade the worship of idols; and exhorted to
and those villages and districts, which had received
him, from being among the worst, were now among the service of only one god Narayana. In con- the best and most orderly in the province. Nor sequence of such teaching, opposition was raised was this all, insomuch as he was said to have de
• Conf. a memorandum' extracted from the Bombay Courier in the Asiatic Journal, Vol. XV. (1823) p848.
+ Dnydnodaya, ut sup. p. 281.
