So~tleYolk-Xto7,ies qf 12L'n?/~{k(js the L a s t of the ~9ages.

-133
nriss ~ J U C I AC. (i. ( ~ I I I E V E , 8:1t:~ra,India.

THE most picturesq~lefigure in Xaratl-ii folk-lore is that of

Sliivaji, tllc great military chief who broke the power of the
hloglils and gave the IIindus back their independence.
Next to Ilim, and cnslirined rnore deeply in the p o r ~ d a raffec-
tion, stands RSmdtLs, Sllivaji's Gliru or spiritual instructor.
The king was a foreigner, often despotic-tl-iongh that is a small
matter to a I'iil~du-frequently as terrible to his friends as to
his foes. IZnt R:T~nd%s y a s one of themselves, the ideal holy
man, tllc poet whose verses are still treasured, tllc foun(1cr of a
popular religion, the gentle sage mho went about doing good,
and whose ready wit and kcc11 sense of humor confounded his
foes and endeared him to all wit11 wl-lorn Ile came in contact.
l'l-ic facts of his life are treavily e1lcruste(1 wit11 legend, the
wild legend in which the IIin(11x rrlincl revels; but some truth
can be gathered in tiny scraps.
IIc was born in a small village ucar Atit, about eleven rnilcs
soutl-i of Siitiira, a ISral-irnan of the Desl-issta caste, the younger
of two sons. In his cl-iildhood, so great was his love for the
god Rt7nia that lie refused to go to school, niacl-i to his father's
disgust, and spent his whole time collecting sacred pebbles and
worshipping thcm. A t six or eight years of age the ceritrnony of
investiture with the sacred )rur?Tj,?jcc was r)crformed, and lie was
very Ilappy to bccorne a IErahmaciiril~,o r adult ~ ~ n m a r r i eascetic;
d
and unmarried he resolvc(1 to remain all his life. That he was now
permitted to recite tl-ic holy texts gave him great r)leasnrc; and
tllougl-i he llad no Guru, he tried his best to keep all the forms
as lie Ilad read them or seen thcm cxplaine(1 in the religious
books. TVhc11 he was nine or ten years old, his father deci(1cd
that it was time for hirn to marry, and selected the girl and
fixed the date for the ceremony. Ramd%s had said littlc a1)ont
his resolve not to marry, and what littlc he said his father did
not heed. So the boy allowed the preparations to go on, even
to the point where the shawl is droppctl between tlrc "high
contracting ~)arties,"and tllc priest begins to say the irrevoca-
ble words. IEut just as the priest opened his nloutll Rumtltls
descended from the rnarriagc throne, told his father he would
not marry, and leaving the house nla(1e his way to the jungle.
Ilerc, in a cave 011 the side of the hill Sajanagara, near l'arali,
about four miles from SStSra, he dwelt and worhhil)ped "with
heart and soul," performing the Sdndl-iya ccrcrno~liesaccording
to all the prescribed rites. A t the end of twelve years Rsma
appeared to him and cntlowed lrirn with miraculous power.
After that he took up his residence in the village of Parali;
and in the great tcnlple a t that place arc still to be seen his
stick, his drinking-cap, and his coach. Here Sllivaji heard of
hiin, went to visit him, and mas so pleased that he nla(1e llirn
his Guru. Thenceforth the king (lid nothing, great or small,
public or private, without consulting this s a g c Rtlrncl5s had
many (1isciplcs, of who111 Ii'alyS~jawas the chief; and togetlrcr
they traveled and revived tlrc Hindu religion all oFcr lndia as
far north as Benarcs, intl.oducing the worship of 3l:'Lri,ti, a
popular god, not so hedged about ~1-it11ceremonies as are rrlost
of the other l1inclu divinities.
Many anecdotes, most of tllcpl of rlliraculorls cllaractcr, have
crystallize(1 about the name of R5nid;is.
It is said that one day wllen R%rndtis~ 1 - a t~ I'arali, Slrivaji
wished to see him. S o sooner had the thought taken slrape in
tlre king's mind than Ftiirrldtls stood before him in Sstira Port.
7'1-ie king was amazed, but as Ile was fond of him and an llorlest
a ~ t dtrnc disciple Ilc made bold to ahk how he liad come there in
so short a time. 1t;imdii.s answered that he sllould see; an(1 Ile
fortll~%-itl~placed one foot on Stlt5ra Port and the other on the
fort a t I'arali four rrliles distant. Sllivaji began to be afraid
when he saw this, and the sage resurrled his lratural form.
Thcrlcefortll the king regarded him more highly than ever
'cjcforc.
There was atlotlrer sagc n h o had rniraculons power, but he
was very proud. Rtlnldiis decided that something slloul(1 he
done to lessen his pride. So one day hc took a buffalo alld
killed i t before all the people. E:vcryot~c was Ilorrificd, and
they sent word to Shivaji and to the other sagc. 3Ieanwllile
Ft$mdtls had the flesh cut arlcl put into Ir)askcts and carried
into the cook-room ; and when the king appeared, 1le asked what
lle had corrle for. Sllivaji said nothing, Ir)at the rival sagc answered
Vol. xxv.] AVolncJ I.ii/ll.-Sto~.iesof I:2,t~/lG.s. IS?'

that it \\.as not proper for a I%rahman.tokill a buffalo. nrimdas

askcd, wliere was any buffalo killed '.' Tlie sage replied that its
flcsl-I was in the cook-room. R%md;Tstold liim that if that \ ~ ~ e r c
so, to bring it oat. The sagc went to get it, but strange to
say, all the baskets were filled with (Iisllcs ! Then the sagc fell
a t tllc feet of Ra111dtLs and begged hirn to pardon him; 1)at
RSmd;is replied that i t was only to rernove liis pride that lie hat1
done this.
R;imdt?s was kind to a11 and rnadc 110 (Iistinction between
Kralirnans, Mollamrnedans, ctc. One clay a 3lohammedan
emperor invited hirn to rnect liirrl in one of tlie forts. As soon
as they were inside, the emperor liad all the doors locked and
askcd tlic sagc how he could get oat. I n tliese old forts on thc
hill-tops, there arc small I-loles a t tlie edge tlirough wllicli tliosc
within could fire (Iown on the cnerny beloxv. RtLmd%s replied
tliat llc conld go out throngti one of these holes. The emperor
(Iitl not believe llirn and told him to go. \Vhereupon t11c sage
made his body srnaller in diameter tlla11 a. bullet, and passed
thronph quite easily. The emperor was greatly arnazed, and
from that day begal; to lore a11cl reverence hirn.
The disciples of Rttrnd2s mere very honest and just, and
grcatly devoted to trim.' One of tllc disciples used to give the
sagc ~r-ic[a,firbt chewing the leaf to rnakc i t soft, so that he
could eat it easily. R ~ r n c i i sb y his rniraculol~spower knew this,
but becallsc the man was a good disciple, he ate tllc coitkl that
lie broaght hirn. One day a gentlrnian told RSrndiis all about
it. The latter told tlie Inan to tell the disciple to send the
instrument by \vI-lich he re(Inccd the z l ~ i d t cto pulp. Whcn tlie
(Iiscil)le heard this he took a sword, and cutting off his own head,
I-landed i t to the man. A t this the gentlcrnan began to be
afraid, b ~ he~ wast obliged to carry the head to the sage. TVhen
he told R%rnci%s,the latter replied that the disciple would do
anything for I-lirn, so he loved him and ate tlie i ~ l i t l t r ; but he
was afraid the disciple ~vonl(1die \\-ithont liis I-lead. So lie took
the head and put it 011 again, and i t was as good as ever: bnt
Ile did ~ i o set
t i t qnitc straight, and the discir)lc cvcr aftcr llad
his head twisted a littlc to one side.
Iialy:'r~!a was the first and chief disciple of R;irncl%s. One day,
in order to pllt the latter to the tost, R;inld%s did a roiracle.
IIc called togetllcr a11 his disciples and showed them a great
swelling on his thigh from arlliclr Ile was srlffcring nluclr pain,
and he told them that if any of them would suck the matter
from it he would recover, brit otherwise he mould die. ,111
professed great sympathy, b a t as Ire called 011 tlrerr~one by one
to 1)crform this service, "they all xvitl-I one accord began to
make excuses." ISut when he came to KalyStla and asked if he
were willing, tlris disciple replied tlrat he lrad made an offering
of his life to him and therefore he \vonld do anytlring. 'l'hen
lle applied-his lips to the swelling, but as hc did so the lump
became a large and s~veetrnango ! Everyone was astonished,
and IialyrT~abecame chief of the disciples.
A t another time, to put Shivaji to the test, RLlrrldas told the
king that he was very sick, but that if Ire would bring hirn some
rnilk frorn a tigress Ire would recover. Tlrc king resolved to
bring the milk or die in tlre attempt. So he started out and
came to a thick jungle and entered i t and began to scarclr for a
cave. Presently he found one with a big tigress inside. She
was very fierce and terrible, and as Ire approactred her she made
a t him. IEut strong in his resolution, he was not afraid, b u t
went boldly np to her arld began milking her. This enraged
her still more, and she tried to eat him, but he persevered and
filled his pot with the milk. Then he started to go home; but
as he looked back he saw, not the tigress, but the sage! So the
king fell a t his feet rejoicing, and thenceforth RBmd5s regarded
him as one of his most devoted disciples.
[The DeshBsta Brahnla~lsmentioned in this article are those of
the Deccan from Ahmadnugger to S%t%ra,,incontradistinction
to the Konkon Brahmans of the coast. Marhti, as Miss Grieve
carefully writes the word, to give the pronunciation, is Sk.
MBrnti, in the epic a late epithet of Hanunlan, but now the
usual name of this deity in the nlouth of the conlmon people.
The statement that the worship of ITan~xmanwas i~ltroduced
by Riimdgs is irlteresting as a legend. IIistorically it nlay be
doubted whether it was even revived; perhaps i t was e ~ t e n d e d
or enlphasized by the saint. The cr*i{7(1 is the betel, Sk. ?ri!ikd.
-El).]