52 IM THE VISION OF GOD
river. In the front room of this temple they ^were lodged.
Arrangements were also made here to burn fuel to keep
the room warm. On. account of the continuous rush
of visitors. Bamdas had to keep awake and sit up
clay and night. So he confined himself to milk diet
only.
The following day was Shivaratri. There was a mnrti of
Shiva in the middle of the river on a raised platform.
Access to it was possible only by boat. The Patel or village
headman attended to the needs of the sadhus. He took
them for the darshan of the murti on the river, and also to
the noted temple of Sri Eamchandra. When they returned
to their seat in the temple of Maruti, they be-
held hundreds of people awaiting their arrival with
offerings.
Thereafter commenced a regular flow of visitors. Both
for the darshan of the sadhus and celebration of Shivaratri,
thousands of people from the neighbouring hamlets had
poured into Supa. The visitors continued to come through-
out the night. When Earndas expressed his "wish to depart
on the following day, the kind-hearted Patel pressed him
to stay a day longer, and he yielded. On the last day of
their stay, a limping elderly lady followed by her husband
came to the temple with a cup of fresh milk. The time was
morning. The couple sat "beside Ramdasand made him drink
the milk. The husband, an overseer's clerk, then told the
story of the milk*
He said: "Maharaj, one day, about a year ago, we found
at our door a cow ^which ^vas reduced almost to a skeleton.
She vas so weak and emaciated from starvation that she
was hardly able to walk. She dragged herself along with
great effort. Seeing her pitiable condition my wife sug-
gested that ve might give her shelter and tend her, to
which I agreed. The cow appeared to have been disowned
and left at large. Hy wife took her inside the house and
got her a place in our bedroom. She feel and nursed her