Kāṣṭhajihvā Svāmī · vārtās arranged by Sītārāmīya Bābā Hariprasāda. This release publishes every manually collated passage currently ready: the opening Gaṇeśa invocation, the first sixteen complete vārtās, and the complete fourth pada. It is an incomplete reader, never a complete edition.
Provisional unit 0001 · unnumbered opening leaf
Gaṇeśa invocation
वैराग्यप्रदीप
श्रीगुरवे नमः
गजनयन गणेश विघ्नहरन सदा गाइये।
प्रथम जाहि गायगाय सकल सिद्धि पाइये १
मन्त्रका स्वरूप सोई गजमुख ठहराइये।
मूषकसवारी चारिभुजा भाल चन्द्र ध्याइये २
अंकुशधारी दन्त ज्ञान रूप सो बढ़ाइये।
सुन्दर सिंदूर शीश मोदक फल भाइये ३
भगवान एकदन्त केवल सुखदाइये।
देवेन्द्र सकल के मानस में आइये ४
Fresh English
Vairāgya-pradīpa. Homage to the revered guru.
Sing always of elephant-eyed Gaṇeśa, the remover of obstacles. Whoever first sings and sings of him obtains every accomplishment. He is the very form of the mantra: know him as elephant-faced. Meditate on the mouse-rider, four-armed, with the moon upon his brow. He bears the goad; his tusk is the form of knowledge—extol him. Vermilion beautifies his head, and the sweet modaka fruit delights. The blessed one-tusked Lord alone bestows happiness. O lord of the gods, enter the minds of all.
Reading holds
The text was compared directly with DLI PDF scan page 2. Five damaged compounds remain conjectural; they are preserved rather than silently normalized.
गजनयन: The first compound is damaged; the surviving shapes and Gaṇeśa iconography support this provisional reading.
मन्त्रका: The beginning is abraded; the surviving letters and स्वरूप सोई support mantra as the provisional referent.
मूषकसवारी: The beginning is damaged; surviving letters and the following iconographic catalogue support ‘mouse-rider’.
भगवान: Only part of the word is clean; the surviving ending and syntax before एकदन्त support this reading.
सकल: The word is partly abraded; this reading best fits the visible shape and syntax of the final line.
Provisional unit 0002 · first vārtā · scans 3–4
Why renunciation is necessary for devotion
वार्ता। भजन करनेवाले को उचित है कि जगत से वैराग्य करें, त्यागना दो भाँति से, पहिले [परमार्थ?] भजन के लिये, क्योंकि जगत की प्रीति भजन को रोकती है कि एक व्यवहार में लगा और भीतर भी उसी का ध्यान है तो भजन कैसे होगा। एक मन किधौं ओर लगा के दूसरी ओर कैसे लगेगा। जगत और परलोक की उपमा सौत की है कि जब एक रानी होगी दूसरी रूठेगी और जगत परलोक में भेद पूर्व पश्चिम सा भी है जिसका एक से निकट दूसरे से दूर होगा। एक महात्मा ने अपने चेले से कहा कि हमने चाहा कि भजन और व्यवहार दोनों करें, पर न होसका, तब व्यवहार छोड़ भजन में जी लगाया। और एक सयाने का यह कहना है कि जिसने परलोक की ओर डीठि दी उसकी दुनिया गई और जिसने दुनिया से प्रीति की परलोक खोया। इससे जाना गया कि जब आदमी ऊपर से दुनिया में फँसा हो तो भीतर उसका मन भजन में किसी भाँति नहीं लग सकता। जब जगत का भीतर बाहर से नाता छोड़ें तब भजन होसकता है। दूसरे यह कि छोड़कर भजन करने से प्रभु राजी होते हैं, थोड़े भजन को बहुत मानते और व्यवहार के साथ सारी अवस्था के भजन को थोड़ा जानते हैं। सयानों के निकट त्याग तीन भाँति से है। एक यह कि जो प्राप्त न हो उसकी चाह न, दूसरे जो वस्तु दुनिया की प्राप्त हो उसको दूर करें, तीसरे दुनिया की चाह मन से निकालें। इन तीनों में से दुनिया की चाह निकालना कठिन है। बहुत आदमी दुनिया को बाहर से छोड़ते पर भीतर से प्रीति रखते हैं॥
Fresh English
One who practises devotion ought to become dispassionate toward the world. Renunciation is of two kinds. First, it is for the sake of [spiritual?] devotion, because attachment to the world obstructs devotion: if someone is occupied with worldly affairs and inwardly keeps thinking only of them, how can devotion take place? How can one mind, fixed in one direction, be fixed in another? The world and the next world are like co-wives: when one queen is favoured, the other is offended. The difference between the world and the next world is also like east and west—whoever draws near to one becomes distant from the other.
A holy man told his disciple, “I wished to practise both devotion and worldly business, but it could not be done. Then I left worldly business and set my heart on devotion.” Another wise person said that whoever turned their gaze toward the next world lost this world, while whoever loved this world lost the next. From this it is understood that, while a person is outwardly entangled in the world, their mind cannot inwardly settle into devotion in any way. Devotion becomes possible only when the relationship with the world is relinquished inwardly and outwardly.
Second, the Lord is pleased when one relinquishes worldly life and practises devotion: he values even a little such devotion greatly, while regarding a whole lifetime of devotion mixed with worldly business as little. In the view of the wise, renunciation is threefold: not desiring what one has not obtained; putting away a worldly thing that one has obtained; and removing desire for the world from the mind. Of these three, removing worldly desire is difficult. Many people abandon the world outwardly while retaining love for it inwardly.
Reading hold
This complete vārtā was compared directly across DLI PDF scans 3–4. One damaged word before भजन remains bracketed as [परमार्थ?]; neither the original nor the English conceals that uncertainty.
Checked unit 0003 · second vārtā · scan 5
The king’s gift and the true faqir
वार्ता। एक राजाने किसी लड़ाई के पहिले सोचा कि बैरी से जय पाऊँ तो हजार रुपये फ़कीरों को दे शिर झुकाऊँ। जब जय पाई तब एक सेवक से कहा कि ये रुपये फ़कीरों को बाँट दे। वह सेवक बुद्धिमान् सारे दिन फिरा साँझको मय रुपये राजा के पास आकर कहा कि फ़कीर नहीं मिलते। राजा बोले कि तू बावला है मेरे जानते तो इस नगर में चारसौ से कम नहीं हैं। उसने कहा जो फ़कीर हैं वह रुपया नहीं लेते और जो लेते हैं वे फ़कीर नहीं। इसी भाँति का आपको एक पद सुनाता हूँ॥
Fresh English
Before a certain battle, a king resolved: “If I defeat the enemy, I shall give a thousand rupees to faqirs and bow my head.” When he had won, he told a servant to distribute the money among the faqirs. The intelligent servant wandered all day and returned to the king at evening with the money, saying that no faqirs could be found. The king replied, “You are a fool. To my knowledge there are no fewer than four hundred in this city.” The servant said, “Those who are faqirs do not accept money, and those who accept it are not faqirs.” I shall recite to you a song on precisely this theme.
This complete vārtā was manually compared against scan 5. The difficult poem immediately before it remains a separately declared gap; it has not been hidden inside this checked unit.
Provisional unit 0004 · third vārtā · scan 6
The favoured faqir and the visiting paramahansa
वार्ता। एक फ़कीर एक राजा के पास रहता था। राजा उस पर बहुत प्रीति करता। उसको अहंकार बहुत हुआ। कभी तो राजा के सिंहासन पर जा बैठे; कभी उसके बसन पहिन फूलें; और कभी उसके बाहनों पर जा चढ़ता; कभी राजा के सेवकों पर आज्ञा करता। एक दूसरा साधु अति सुजान [विगतमान परमहंस?] जा पड़ा और उस फ़कीरको देख इस पदको गाया॥
Fresh English
A faqir lived with a king. The king was very fond of him, and he became exceedingly proud. At times he would go and sit upon the king’s throne; at times he would put on the king’s clothes and strut; at times he would mount the king’s vehicles; and at times he would give orders to the king’s servants. Another saint, very wise—a [prideless paramahansa?]—happened to arrive. Seeing that faqir, he sang this song.
Reading hold
This complete vārtā was manually compared against scan 6. Damage affects the visitor’s description; the likely reading [विगतमान परमहंस?] remains questioned in both languages. The following poem is a separate untreated section.
Provisional unit 0005 · fourth vārtā · scans 7–8
The forest devotee in the king’s garden
वार्ता। एक भजनानंद किसी वन में भजन करता था और जब भूख लगती पत्तों से पेट भरता। उस देश का राजा उसके पास गया और कहा कि हमारे नगर में रहें तो आपके लिये एक मंदिर बनवादूँ, एक कोठरी में बैठ निश्चिन्त भजन कीजै। पर फ़कीर ने न माना तब राजा के मंत्रियों ने कहा कि थोड़े दिन इस नगर में रहिये और महाराज को कृतार्थ कीजै। फ़कीर ने उन लोगों का कहना माना। नगर में आया। एक उत्तम [ठाँव?] में वास किया। पुष्पवाटिका अतिरमणीय तड़ाग कूप कमनीय वहाँ बने थे। उस स्थान में रहने और भाँति भाँति के वस्त्र पहिनने और भोजन करने लगा। एक दिन राजा देखने गया कि विरक्त तकिया मसनद लगाये और विचित्र वसन मन भाये पहिने बैठा और आसपास बहुत लोग घेरे उन्हें ज्ञान उपदेश कर रहे हैं। राजा ने अति प्रसन्न हो कुछ बातकर कहा कि विद्वान और विरक्तों पर मेरी बहुत प्रीति रहती है। एक मंत्री विचारवान् हाथ जोड़ बोला कि महाराज बात तो यह है कि विद्वानों को द्रव्य दीजिये कि और भी विद्या पढ़ें और विरक्तों को कुछ न दीजै जिससे विरक्त रहें। फिर वह मंत्री उस महात्मा से बोला कि इस पद को सुनो॥
Fresh English
A devotee absorbed in worship lived in a certain forest. Whenever hunger came, he filled his stomach with leaves. The king of that country visited him and said, “If you live in our city, I shall have a temple built for you. Sit in a room and worship without anxiety.” The faqir did not agree. The king’s ministers then said, “Please remain in this city for a few days and bless the king by accepting his service.” The faqir accepted what they said and came to the city. He took up residence in an excellent [place?], where there were a delightful flower garden, a charming pond, and a fine well.
Living there, he began wearing garments of many kinds and eating prepared food. One day the king went to see him. The renunciant was seated against cushions and bolsters, wearing splendid clothes that pleased his mind, surrounded by many people to whom he was giving instruction in knowledge. Greatly pleased, the king remarked in conversation, “I have much affection for scholars and renunciants.” A thoughtful minister folded his hands and replied, “Your Majesty, the proper course is to give wealth to scholars so that they may study still more, but to give renunciants nothing, so that they may remain renunciants.” The minister then said to that holy man, “Listen to this song.”
Reading hold
This complete vārtā was manually compared across scans 7–8. Damage affects the noun after उत्तम; [ठाँव?] is retained as a questioned reading. The poem introduced at the end is a separate untreated section.
Checked unit 0006 · source pada 004 · scan 8
Outer marks without inward truth
पद। दिल से गई न शेखी तो मूँड़ क्या मुड़ाया।
हैवान ही बना है इन्सान क्या कहाया १
कंठी गले में बाँधी छापा तिलक लगाया।
यह तो सभी नकल हैं इनका असल न पाया २
सोहबत मिली न उसकी जिसने असल कमाया।
सोहबत मिली चटोरी अपना रतन गँवाया ३
तू सोच बात एती को तू कहाँ से आया।
क्योंकर जहाँ अजूबा किस देव ने बनाया ४॥
Fresh English
If swagger has not left your heart, what was gained by shaving your head? You have remained an animal—why have yourself called a human being? You tied a sacred necklace around your neck and applied the sectarian stamp and forehead mark; these are all imitations, for their reality was never found.
You did not gain the company of one who attained the real; you gained the company of a glutton and squandered your own jewel. Reflect on this much: from where did you come? How was this wondrous world made, and which divine power made it?
All four numbered stanzas were manually checked against scan 8. Its source position remains pada 004 because the three earlier padas are still explicit gaps; edition unit 0006 does not renumber the source.
Checked unit 0007 · fifth vārtā · scans 8–9
Remembering the world’s suffering and faults
वार्ता। और बड़ा पुरुषार्थ है कि दुनिया की चाह मन से न रहे। अब त्यागने की चाल जानना चाहिये कि बड़ा त्यागने का यह है कि उसके दुख और दोष को याद करें॥
Fresh English
A further great spiritual effort is to let no desire for the world remain in the mind. One should now learn the method of renouncing it: the great means of renouncing the world is to remember its suffering and its faults.
This short vārtā was manually checked across scans 8–9. Sentence punctuation is supplied at the evident syntactic boundary; no lexical reading is conjectural.
Checked unit 0008 · sixth vārtā · scans 9–10
The two faults in the splendid palace
वार्ता। किसी राजा ने एक उत्तम महल बनवाया और विचित्र चित्रकारी रचाया और बिछौने नरम और सब पदार्थ सुख देनेवाले उसमें एकत्र किये। राजा ने गृहप्रवेश का उत्सव किया। फ़कीर अमीर भाँति भाँति के लोग आये। राजा बोला कि कोई किसी रीति का दोष इसमें देखे हो निडर हो कहे। उसको हजार अशरफ़ी का तोड़ा मिलेगा। लोगों ने सब ओर देखा पर कुछ दोष न पाया। उसी समय एक फ़कीर आया। एक पल उस विचित्र भवन को देख रो दिया और कहा कि इस मकान में दो बड़े दोष हैं। एक यह कि एक दिन यह महल गिर जायगा दूसरे यह कि मालिक इस मकान का मरेगा। इतना कह इस पद को पढ़ा॥
Fresh English
A certain king had a magnificent palace built. He had marvellous paintings made, and gathered within it soft bedding and every comfort-giving thing. The king celebrated the house-entering ceremony. Faqirs, nobles, and people of many kinds came. The king declared, “If anyone sees any kind of fault in it, let him speak without fear. He will receive a purse of one thousand ashrafis.”
People looked everywhere but found no fault. At that moment a faqir arrived. After looking at the remarkable building for an instant, he wept and said, “This house has two great faults. First, one day this palace will fall. Second, the owner of this house will die.” Having said this, he recited the following song.
This complete vārtā was manually checked across scans 9–10. The printed repetition sign after भाँति is expanded as भाँति भाँति; no lexical reading is conjectural.
Checked unit 0009 · seventh vārtā · scan 10
The king asks for further instruction
वार्ता। राजा को इस पद के सुनने से वैराग्य हुआ और कहा कि कुछ और उपदेश दीजिये। फ़कीर बोला॥
Fresh English
Discourse. On hearing this song, the king became dispassionate and said, “Please give me some further instruction.” The faqir replied.
This complete short vārtā was manually checked against scan 10. Sentence punctuation is supplied at the evident syntactic boundary; no lexical reading is conjectural. The following poem is preserved as a separate untreated section.
Checked unit 0010 · eighth vārtā · scans 11–12
The faqir who slept in the king's bed
वार्ता। एक राजा के विश्रामस्थल में किसी भाँति से फ़कीर गया। मन में विचारा कि राजों की शय्या पर सोने से कितना सुख होता है। इस अनुभव के लिये सोया। उसी बेला राजा आया। दूसरे को सोते देख पहिले घबराया, फिर जाना कि कोई बावला है। सेवकों को आज्ञा दी कि इसे पलंग से खींच लो। वैसाही किया। पहिले रोया फिर हँसा। राजा बोला भला चोट लगने से तो तू रोया हँसा क्यों? बोला कि इतभर सोने के लिये मेरे इतने कोड़े लगे और जो नित सोता है उसको क्या जाने क्या हो। राजा सुन पाँव पड़ा, कहा कि क्षमा कीजिये और कुछ सिखलाइये। फ़कीर बोला॥
Fresh English
A faqir somehow entered a king's sleeping quarters. He thought to himself, “How much pleasure there must be in sleeping on kings’ beds.” To experience it, he lay down. Just then the king arrived. Seeing another person asleep there, he was alarmed at first, but then decided that the man was some madman. He ordered his servants, “Drag him off the bed.” They did so. At first the faqir cried, then laughed.
The king said, “Well, you cried because the blows hurt; why did you laugh?” He replied, “For sleeping just this little, I received so many lashes. Who knows what awaits the one who sleeps there every day?” On hearing this, the king fell at his feet and said, “Forgive me and teach me something more.” The faqir replied.
This complete vārtā was manually checked across 600-dpi renders of scans 11–12. Its cross-page join is preserved as इतभर / सोने; no lexical reading is conjectural. The unresolved poem before it and the poem introduced at its end remain separately declared gaps.
Checked unit 0011 · ninth vārtā · scan 13
The kingdom worth two handfuls of water
वार्ता। एक समय राजाने फ़कीर से कहा कि हमको उपदेश करो। फ़कीर जलका बरतन लाया और कहा जो प्यास तुम पर प्रबल हो और इसके सिवाय जल न पावे और इसको बेचता हो तो कितने को मोल ले, कहा अपने आधे राजपद। कहा वह प्यास अधिक हो तो क्या करें? कहा उसके दूसरे आधेपर। कहा जो वस्तु दो चुटकी भरकी हों उसकी क्या बड़ाई? फिर राजाने कहा कि जिसमें विवेक हो सो कृपा कर कहिये फ़कीर बोला सुनो॥
Fresh English
Once the king said to the faqir, “Instruct me.” The faqir brought a vessel of water and said, “If thirst overpowered you, no water besides this could be found, and someone were selling it, what price would you pay?” He replied, “Half my kingdom.” The faqir asked, “What if the thirst grew stronger?” He replied, “The other half.”
The faqir said, “What greatness belongs to a thing worth only two handfuls?” The king then said, “Please graciously tell me something that contains discernment.” The faqir replied, “Listen.”
This complete vārtā was manually checked against a 600-dpi render of scan 13. Printed joins such as जलका, राजाने, आधेपर, and भरकी are retained; no lexical reading is conjectural. The padas before and after it remain separately declared gaps.
Checked unit 0012 · tenth vārtā · scan 14
The dream of nectar and the unstable kingdom
वार्ता। एक राजा ने फ़कीर से कहा कि रात हमने सपना देखा कि अमृत कोई मुझे देता था पर मैंने न लिया। फ़कीर ने कहा कि तुम मूर्ख भले। राजा बोला कि भूल की कौन बात है, स्वप्न की बात तो झूठी होनी है क्योंकि ठिकाना उसका नहीं होता। फ़कीर हँसा, कहा कि इस राज्य का कौन ठिकाना है कि जिसमें रात दिन पर मरते हो॥
Fresh English
A king said to a faqir, “Last night I dreamed that someone offered me nectar, but I did not take it.” The faqir said, “You acted foolishly.” The king replied, “How was that a mistake? A dream must be false, because it has no stability.” The faqir laughed and said, “Then what stability does this kingdom possess, for which you are dying day and night?”
This complete vārtā was manually checked against a 600-dpi render of scan 14. Sentence punctuation is supplied at evident syntactic boundaries; no lexical reading is conjectural. The padas before and after it remain separately declared gaps.
Provisional unit 0013 · eleventh vārtā · scan 15
The king asks for a devotional song
वार्ता। फिर राजा ने चरणों पर सिर रक्खा [कि में कृपानाथ हेउ?] कोई भजन कहिये। फ़कीर बोला॥
Fresh English
Then the king placed his head at the faqir's feet and [addressed him as a lord of grace?], saying, “Please recite a devotional song.” The faqir replied.
Reading hold
This complete short vārtā was manually compared against a 600-dpi render of scan 15. The damaged address appears to preserve [कि में कृपानाथ हेउ?]; it remains bracketed rather than silently normalized. The following pada is a separate untreated section.
Provisional unit 0014 · twelfth vārtā · scan 16
Who is kicking away the next world?
वार्ता। एक फ़कीर किसी वन में मन में भजन करता था। उसके पास एक राजा आया, बैठके चरण में सिर झुकाया, कहा जो आज्ञा हो सो करूँ। फ़कीर न बोला। तब राजाने कहा आप चुप हैं कि जगत को लातमार है। फ़कीर [मुनि के?] हँसा और कहा कि [अपने धन्य?] तो तू है कि परलोक को लातमारता है। फिर राजा ने चरणों पड़ कहा कि कुछ उपदेश कीजै। फ़कीर ने कहा॥
Fresh English
A faqir was practising devotion inwardly in a certain forest. A king came to him, sat down, bowed his head at the faqir's feet, and said, “I shall do whatever you command.” The faqir did not speak. The king then said, “Are you silent because you have kicked away the world?” The faqir [laughed—the intervening expression is uncertain] and said that [the wording about who was blessed is uncertain], but that it was the king who was kicking away the next world. The king then fell at his feet and said, “Please instruct me.” The faqir replied.
Reading holds
This complete vārtā was manually compared against a 600-dpi render of scan 16. The image appears to read [मुनि के?] and [अपने धन्य?], but both expressions remain syntactically uncertain. The secure contrast between rejecting the world and rejecting the next world is preserved without repairing either damaged expression.
Provisional unit 0015 · thirteenth vārtā · scans 16–17
The palace as a caravanserai
वार्ता। एक राजा अपने अन्तःपुर में बैठा था। एक फ़कीर किसी रीति से वहाँ पहुँचा। सेवकों ने [नंगा जान?] डाँट डपट की। फ़कीर बोला [मुकुट क्या सिरमें नहीं पाते पीतल की चद्दर?]। बोले इतने कौन बड़ा अपराध होगा कि राजा के मकान में निडर चला आया। अब किसी ने बुलाया था? फ़कीर ने कहा कि मैं भिक्षुक हूँ और यह धर्मशाला है, [जभी कीजै थोड़ी देर को बसता फिर अपना नाम तुमसे?]। सेवक बोले कि ये घर होके पिछले राजा का मकान जो अब राजा रहता है। फ़कीर बोला कि इस राजा के पहिले इसमें कौन रहता था? बोले कि राजा का बाप। पूछा कि उसके पहिले कौन? कहा कि राजा का दादा। इसी रीति से राजा के बड़े लोग रहते थे। फ़कीर ने कहा कि हमने क्या झूठ कहा? जिस घर में [सदा एक का काज नहीं?], कभी कोई कुछ दिन ठहरा वह गया दूसरा आया उसने कुछ किया फिर कोई आया, धर्मशाला नहीं तो क्या है? यह बात राजा सुनके चरणों पर सिर रखने लगा, हमको कुछ उपदेश कर सनाथ कीजिये। फ़कीर बोला सुनो॥
Fresh English
A king was seated in his inner apartments. A faqir somehow reached that place. The servants [took him for something described by a damaged phrase] and scolded him. The faqir replied with a [damaged comparison involving a crown and a sheet of brass]. They said, “What greater offence could there be than entering the king's residence fearlessly? Did anyone summon you?” The faqir said, “I am a beggar, and this is a caravanserai,” followed by another damaged clause.
The servants replied that this house had belonged to the preceding king and was now occupied by the present king. The faqir asked who had lived there before this king. They answered, “The king's father.” Asked who preceded him, they said, “The king's grandfather. In this way the king's elders lived here.” The faqir said, “Then what falsehood did I speak? In a house where [the wording about no one remaining permanently is damaged], one person stays for a few days and departs, another comes and does something, and then someone else arrives—if it is not a caravanserai, what is it?” On hearing this, the king laid his head at the faqir's feet and asked to be instructed. The faqir replied, “Listen.”
Reading holds
This complete vārtā was manually compared across 600-dpi renders of scans 16–17. Its father/grandfather/caravanserai argument is secure. Four clauses remain explicitly bracketed as damaged; none has been silently reconstructed.
Provisional unit 0016 · fourteenth vārtā · scan 18
The cow sought on the palace roof
वार्ता। एक राजा ऐश्वर्यवान और विद्या में परम सुजान था पर प्रजा उसकी उससे पीड़ित रहती थी, और [आठ के भाई?] रात दिन मरते थे। ऊपर से राजा पूजापाठ में लगा रहता और [काठ पड़े पर?] लोगों से दगा करता था। एक दिन उसके रहनेवाले मकान के छत पर रातको दो सिद्ध आये और चारों तरफ देखने लगे। राजा पाँव की आहट पाई उनके पास गया पूछा कौन हो क्या करते हो। सिद्ध बोले आदमी हैं गायको ढूँढ़ते हैं। राजा बोला तुम लोग बावले तो नहीं हो। क्या मकान के छत पर भी गाय रखता है? सिद्ध बोले बावले नहीं हैं, बावला तू है कि अधर्मकार में पड़ा है और ईश्वर को ढूँढ़ता है। और यह पद पढ़ा॥
Fresh English
A king was wealthy and exceedingly learned, but his subjects suffered under him; a damaged clause follows concerning those who died day and night. Outwardly the king remained occupied with ritual worship, while another damaged clause says that he deceived people. One night two accomplished adepts came onto the roof of the house where he lived and began looking all around. Hearing their footsteps, the king went to them and asked, “Who are you, and what are you doing?” The adepts replied, “We are men looking for a cow.” The king said, “You people are not mad, are you? Who keeps a cow on the roof of a house?” They replied, “We are not mad. You are the mad one: you remain immersed in wrongdoing while seeking God.” Then they recited this song.
Reading holds
This complete vārtā was manually compared against a 600-dpi render of scan 18. The cow-on-the-roof analogy is secure. The phrases [आठ के भाई?] and [काठ पड़े पर?] remain syntactically uncertain and have not been normalized.
Provisional unit 0017 · fifteenth vārtā · scans 19–20
The caravanserai account repeated
वार्ता। इस पद के सुनतेही राजा उसके चरणों [पड़ा कहने की?] फ़कीर बोला मुझसे क्या बिगड़ा क्यों मारते पीटते हो। सेवक बोले, इससे कौन बड़ा अपराध होगा कि राजा के मकान में निडर चला आया। क्या किसी ने बुलाया था, फ़कीर ने कहा कि मैं [पांथक?] हूँ और यह धर्मशाला है, क्षमा कीजै थोड़ी देर ही रहूँगा फिर अपनी राह लूँगा। सेवक बोले कि [रे नर?] होके ऐसे राजा के मकान को धर्मशाला कहता है। फ़कीर बोला कि इस राजा के पहिले इसमें कौन रहता था, बोले कि राजा का बाप, पूछा कि उसके पहिले कौन? कहा कि राजा का दादा, इसी रीति से राजा के बड़े लोग रहते थे। फ़कीर ने कहा कि हमने क्या झूठ कहा, जिस घर में सदा एक का काबू नहीं, कभी कोई कभी कोई कुछ दिन ठहरा वह गया, दूसरा आया उसने कूच किया, फिर कोई आया, धर्मशाला नहीं तो क्या है? यह बात राजा सुनके चरणों पर गिर कहने लगा हमको कुछ उपदेश कर सनाथ कीजिये। फ़कीर बोला सुनो॥
Fresh English
On hearing this song, the king [fell at his feet—the transition into the faqir's speech is damaged]. The faqir said, “What wrong have I done to you? Why do you beat and strike me?” The servants replied, “What greater offence could there be than entering the king's residence fearlessly? Did anyone summon you?” The faqir said, “I am a [traveller?], and this is a caravanserai. Forgive me; I shall stay only a little while and then go on my way.” The servants answered with a damaged form of address: “Being [a mere man?], you call such a king's residence a caravanserai!”
The faqir asked, “Who lived here before this king?” They replied, “The king's father.” He asked, “Who was before him?” They said, “The king's grandfather. The king's elders lived here in this same way.” The faqir said, “What falsehood did I speak? In a house over which no one always holds mastery, now one person and now another stays for a few days and departs; a second arrives and moves on, and then someone else comes—if it is not a caravanserai, what is it?” Hearing this, the king fell at the faqir's feet and asked for instruction. The faqir replied, “Listen.”
Reading holds and repetition
This complete vārtā was manually compared across 600-dpi renders of scans 19–20. The source itself repeats the father/grandfather/caravanserai account already preserved in unit 0015; it is retained rather than deduplicated. The page-break transition [पड़ा कहने की?] is syntactically incoherent in print, while [पांथक?] and [रे नर?] remain uncertain. None has been silently repaired.
Checked unit 0018 · sixteenth vārtā · scan 21
The teacher who first stopped eating jaggery
वार्ता। एक राजा ने फ़कीर से कहा हमको ज्ञान भक्तियुक्त पंडितों ने सिखाया पर कुछ न आया। फ़कीर बोला कि एक ब्राह्मण का पुत्र मिठाई बहुत खाता था, घर में जो कुछ पाता उसकी मिठाई खाता। उससे पिता ने बहुत दुखी हो उसके गुरु से कहा आप मना करदें तो लड़का मिठाई खाना छोड़दे। गुरु ने कहा एक महीने बाद मना करदूँगा। वैसाही किया, उसने मिठाई खाना छोड़ दिया। ब्राह्मण ने पूछा आप उसी दिन मना करते तो दो चार रुपये मेरे और भी खर्च जाते। गुरु बोले कि उन दिनों में मैं भी गुड़ खाता था। इस कहानी की जान यह है, जो आप जैसा है वह दूसरे को कैसे निकाल सकेगा। इन दिनों ऐसे लोग बहुत हैं। चेतावने के लिये इस पदको लिखा है॥
Fresh English
A king said to a faqir, “Learned men endowed with knowledge and devotion instructed me, but nothing came of it.” The faqir replied, “A Brahmin's son ate a great many sweets. Whatever he found in the house, he consumed as sweets. Deeply troubled, the father asked the boy's teacher to forbid him, so that the child would stop eating sweets. The teacher said, ‘I shall forbid him after one month.’ He did so, and the boy stopped eating sweets. The Brahmin asked, ‘Had you forbidden him that very day, I would have been spared another two or four rupees of expense.’ The teacher replied, ‘In those days, I too ate jaggery.’ The heart of this story is this: how can one who is just like you draw another person out of that condition? There are many such people nowadays. This song has been written to warn them.”
Editorial note
This complete prose span was manually compared against a 600-dpi render of scan 21. Its wording and argument are legible. The poems before and after it remain separately declared gaps and are not absorbed into this checked unit.
Source and limits
The complete DLI witness contains blank guards at scans 1 and 140 and a continuous title/text run on scans 2–139. Scan 139 carries the final pada, closing doha, editorial notice, and completion colophon. Facsimile redistribution is withheld because no sufficiently explicit reuse license was found.