become red in the heat of God's love, and cannot be constrained.' The Monarch, it is said, was pleased at this reply, and requested the Guru to accept a present from him. The Guru replied:—
Nanak is hungry for God, and careth for naught besides.
I ask for God, I ask for nothing else.
The king returned to his palace, and the Guru continued his wanderings.
The Guru next proceeded to Bindraban, where he saw enacted the play called Krishanlila, in which the exploits of Krishan[1] are represented. Krishan appears making love to milkmaids, stealing their clothes while they were bathing, and killing his uncle Kans. The Guru expressed his dissatisfaction with the subject of the performance:—
The disciples play, the gurus dance,
Shake their feet, and roll their heads.
Dust flieth and falleth on their hair;
The audience seeing it laugh and go home.
For the sake of food the performers beat time,
And dash themselves on the ground.
The milkmaids sing, Krishans sing,
Sitas and royal Rams sing.
Fearless is the Formless One, whose name is true,
And whose creation is the whole world.
The worshippers on whom God bestoweth kindness worship Him;
Pleasant is the night for those who long for Him in their hearts.
- ↑ Krishan son of Vasudev, by his wife Devaki, was born, according to Indian tradition, 3185 B.C. Cattle-grazing was the original calling of the family, and Krishan is celebrated for his adventures among the milkmaids of Mathura. In the Bhagavat Gīta, an episode of the Sanskrit epic Mahābhārat, he declared himself to be God, the supreme Soul, the Creator of the world, and its Destroyer; and he has been accepted as such by Hindus, who deem him an incarnation of Vishnu.
