FWALAJEE-PATHANKOT 309
dwelling place, searched the hill for a cave and discovered
a few yards above the ashram, a solid structure containing
a number of vacant rooms in a line. Ramdas proposed to
occupy one of these. Ramcharandas and Jewandas also
became his room mates—the other friend, who accompanied
Jewandas, having separated from the party on the way, as
he was a college student returning to his parents who lived
somewhere in the district.
Ramdas now detected a slight swelling on the sole of
his right foot. However, they wished to finish the darshan
of Jwalajee for which purpose they had come.
The temple is made of a square block, cut out of a solid
mass of rock. The roofing is of plated gold having a
beautiful dome with artistic designs carved on. it. The dome
shone with great lustre in the bright sun. It is said that the
gold roof was presented by the great soldier and king,
Ranjit Singh of historic fame. As Ramdas entered the
temple he observed that its inside was conspicuous by the
absence of any image. Within a few steps of the doorway
was a small oblong pit, in which was seen a big tongue of
flame waving and hissing and there were also similar smaller
flames issuing out of the rock walls at other places, all round
the interior of the temple. There were altogether about
seven such volcanic flames. By Jwalajee is meant "Flame
goddess1'. The worship and darshan were of the flames.
Coming out of the temple Ramdas ascended a flight of
steps to the right of the temple and came to a small shed,
where he saw a circular hole bored in a rock, to the depth
of about two feet, in which water was set boiling by the
heat of a flame below.
Later, Ramdas heard from Jewandas that the flames in
the gold-roofed temple accepted the offering of milk by
licking off nearly half the quantity of the milk presented
to them, leaving the rest as prasad to the devotee. He gave
out this as his own experience.
The darshan over, Ramdas and the party returned to