DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.5829#0265
HERAT.
237
of holy water on one side, and a bamboo rod of seven
knots on the other. Its face was deject, and its
eyes fixed vacantly upon the ground. One hand
rested ujson the crown of its head, the other kept
the nostrils closed. The whole figure was apparently
as inanimate as the rock beneath it. The Raja
breathed quickly with reverential dread. He drew
near to the heaven-chosen Jogi, and thrice performed
a humble prostration. With a trembling voice he
thus addressed it:—
" All-wise and powerful Jogi, now upon the
threshold of divinity. Blessed, indeed, be my destiny,
which has prolonged my existence to this auspicious
day, when I am permitted to enjoy the ineffable felicity
of beholding your holy feet. The glory which I
acquire, by looking upon your beneficent countenance,
infinitely exceeds the public renown which emblazons
the great virtues of other men. How have I deserved
so distinguished a mark of divine approbation ?
Surely I can attribute it only to the merits of my
ancestors, or to some acceptable work which I may
have been enabled to perform in a preceding gene-
ration, the memory whereof no longer remains to me.
But, however obtained, this glorious hour, in which
I first behold the lustre of your hallowed feet, is by
far the happiest of my existence. Henceforth, I can
have nothing to covet in this world. It is sufficient
for any mortal to have seen that inspired form; for
so beatific a vision will assuredly blot out the sins of
all beholders, committed cither in this or in any
237
of holy water on one side, and a bamboo rod of seven
knots on the other. Its face was deject, and its
eyes fixed vacantly upon the ground. One hand
rested ujson the crown of its head, the other kept
the nostrils closed. The whole figure was apparently
as inanimate as the rock beneath it. The Raja
breathed quickly with reverential dread. He drew
near to the heaven-chosen Jogi, and thrice performed
a humble prostration. With a trembling voice he
thus addressed it:—
" All-wise and powerful Jogi, now upon the
threshold of divinity. Blessed, indeed, be my destiny,
which has prolonged my existence to this auspicious
day, when I am permitted to enjoy the ineffable felicity
of beholding your holy feet. The glory which I
acquire, by looking upon your beneficent countenance,
infinitely exceeds the public renown which emblazons
the great virtues of other men. How have I deserved
so distinguished a mark of divine approbation ?
Surely I can attribute it only to the merits of my
ancestors, or to some acceptable work which I may
have been enabled to perform in a preceding gene-
ration, the memory whereof no longer remains to me.
But, however obtained, this glorious hour, in which
I first behold the lustre of your hallowed feet, is by
far the happiest of my existence. Henceforth, I can
have nothing to covet in this world. It is sufficient
for any mortal to have seen that inspired form; for
so beatific a vision will assuredly blot out the sins of
all beholders, committed cither in this or in any