S4, RELIGIOUS SECTS 



the Raja's presence at his delivery of it to the Bi^aJmans, as, he said, if after 

 being given to them it should return to him, they would accuse him of 

 stealing it. The Raja assenting, the Sdlagrdm was brought, and placed on a 

 cushion in the assembly. The Brahmans were desired to remove it but 

 attempted to take it away in vain : they repeated hymns and charms, and 

 read the Vedas, but the stone was immoveable. Rai Das then addressed it 

 with this Pada : — 



Pada. " Lord of Lords, tliou art my refuge, the root of Supreme happiness art 

 thou, to whom there is none equal : behold me at thy feet: in various wombs have I abided, 

 and from the fear of death have I not been delivered. I have been plunged in the deceits 

 of sense, of passion, and illusion ; but now let my trust in thy name dispel apprehension of 

 the future, and teach me to place no reliance on what the world deems virtue. Accept, oh 

 God, the devotions of thy slave Rai Das, and be thou glorified as the Purifier of the sinfuL 



The saint had scarcely finished, when the Sdlagrdm and cushion flew 

 into his arms, and the king, satisfied of his holy pretensions, commanded the 

 Brahmans to desist from their opposition. Amongst the disciples of Rai Das 

 was Jhali, the Rani of Chitore: her adopting a Chamdr, as her spiritual pre- 

 ceptor, excited a general "commotion amongst the Brahmans of her state, 

 and, alarmed for her personal safety, she wrote to Rai Das to request his 

 counsel and aid. He repaired to her, and desired her to invite the Brahmans to a 

 solemn feast: they accepted the invitation, and sat down to the meal provided 

 for them, when between every two Brahmans, there appeared a Rai Das. This 

 miraculous multiplication of himself had the desired effect, and from being 

 his enemies and revilers, they became his disciples. 



Such are the legends of Bhakta Mala, and whatever we may think of 

 their veracity, their tenor, representing an individual of the most abject class, 

 an absolute outcast in Hindu estimation, as a teacher and a saint, is not with- 

 out interest and instruction. 



