a second son, Mahadev, made his appearance. On Tuesday, the seventh day of the dark half of Baisakh, Sambat 1620, Jetha and Bhani were blessed with a third son called Arjan, at whose birth there were unusual rejoicings.
Chapter VII
There was a Bairagi named Mai Das, a most devout worshipper of the god Krishan. Strictly adhering to all Vaishnav ceremonials, he would only eat what he had cooked with his own hands. His chief desire was to behold the yellow-robed, peacock-crowned god in bodily form. In the hope of obtaining assistance for the purpose from the Guru, of whose fame he had heard, he went to Goindwal. On arriving there, however, he was informed he could not see the Guru until he had eaten food from his kitchen. He decided that as a strict Vaishnav he could never partake of such food, and he accordingly took his departure. On his way home he said to himself, ‘I have been lucky in deciding to see the Guru, but unlucky in departing without seeing him. I will by way of consolation go to Dwaraka to see Krishan.’ He accordingly made the long journey to Dwaraka, and took up his abode in an adjacent forest. On the night of his arrival he was holding the fast of the eleventh of the lunar month, during which he was allowed to eat fruit, but it was not obtainable for it was then the winter season. Cold winds were blowing, rain was falling in torrents, lightning was flashing, and the night was appallingly dark. He called upon all his gods, ‘O Wasdev, O Krishan, O Girdhari, I have no shelter but in you.’ At last in his dire extremity he accidentally found a hollow tree in which he took shelter for the night.
On the morrow at daybreak he searched the whole
