O Ram Raghav! O Ram Raghav! O Ram Raghav!
Deliver me!
O Krishna Keshav! Krishna Keshav! Krishna Keshav!
Save me!
He bathed in the Ganga Gotami (Godavari). At Mallikárjun He visited the shrine of Mahesha, where He made all the people recite Krishna's name. He beheld the Rámdás Mahádev, and also the Man-Lion at Ahobal, bowing to and glorifying the latter. At Siddha-bat is the image of Sita's lord; the Master bowed to the image of Ram and sang hymns to it. There He was invited by a Brahman of the place, who incessantly took Ram's nume and no other. After passing the day in his house as his guest, the Master proceeded on. At Skanda-kshetra He visited Kártik, and at Tri-matha the god Tri-vikrama, whence He returned to that Brahman's house at Siddha-bat, but found him chanting Krishna's name! After dinner the Master asked him, "Why, Brahman! has this change come over you? Formerly you used to cry 'Ram, Ram' and now you chant Krishna's name!" The Brahman replied, "This is the effect of your visit. The sight of you changed my life-long habit. From childhood have I been chanting Ram's name; but when I met you I once tittered the word Krishna, and since then Krishna's name has settled on my tongue. It is Krishna's name that comes out of my mouth, while the name of Ram has disappeared. It had been my practice since my boyhood to collect the texts bearing on the glory of God's names. In the Padma Purán, we read:
'Yogis sport (rama) in the eternal God, whose self is composed of sat, chit, and ananda. Hence the term Ram means the Supreme God.'
"Again, the Mahábharat, Udyog Parba, canto lxxi. 4, says 'the term 'Krishna', meaning the Supreme God, has been derived from the verb krish meaning existence and the inflexion na meaning cessation.'
"So, the two names Ram and Krishna appeared equal, but I next found texts making a discrimination between them. The Padma Purán has this:
'O perfect-featured Darling! my heart's Delight! reciting the word Ram thrice earns as much merit as taking [God's] name a thousand times!'
"The Brahmánda Purán asserts,
'A single utterance of the name of Krishna is as efficacious as reciting God's thousand sacred epithets three times in succession.'
"The last text proves the immeasurable excellence of Krishna's name. And yet I could not repeat it, only because I found delight in the name of Ram, the god of my vows (ishtadev), and took the latter incessantly. When at your visit the word Krishna rose [to my lips], my heart recognized its glory. And I truly inferred that you are Krishna himself." So saying the Brahman fell at the Master's feet, who after bestowing His grace left him the next day.
At Vriddha Kashi the Master visited Shiva, and thence went on to another village, where He lodged with the Brahmans. So great was His power that countless people,—hundreds of thousand, millions even,—came to see [Him]. Beholding the beauty and religious ecstasy of the Master they all chanted Krishna's name, and the whole region was converted to Vaishnavism. He refuted and proved faulty all the doctrines of the logicians, mimánsakas, illusionists, with the followers of Sánkhya, Patanjal, Smriti, Purán, and Veda, though they were strong in defending their tenets. Everywhere the Master established the dogmas of Vaishnavism, which none could refute. His vanquished antagonists accepted His creed, and so He made the South Vaishnav. On hearing of His scholarship the sceptics (páshandi) came to Him, boastfully bringing their pupils with them. A very learned Buddhist professor held forth on the nine doctrines of his church before the Master. Though the Buddhists are unfit to be talked to or even to be looked at, yet the Master argued with him to lower his pride. The very Buddhist philosophy of nine tenets, though rich in logical reasoning, was torn to pieces by the Master's argumentation. The Buddhist professor raised all his nine questions, but only to be refuted by the Master's vigorous logic. The great philosophers were all vanquished; the audience tittered; the Buddhist felt shame and alarm. Knowing that the Master was a Vaishnav, the Buddhists retired and hatched a wicked plan: They placed before the Master a plate of unclean rice, describing it as Vishnu's prasád. But just then a huge bird swooped down and carried off the plate in its beak! The rice falling on the bodies of the Buddhists was [openly] rendered impure; the plate fell down slanting on the Buddhist professor's head, cutting it open, and throwing him down in a fit. His disciples lifted up their voices in lamentation, and sought the Master's feet imploring Him, "Thou art God incarnate! O forgive us! Out of thy grace restore our teacher." The Master replied, "Cry out, all of you, Krishna's name. Pour the word loudly into your teacher's ears, and he will recover." They did it, the professor rose up and began to chant Hari! Hari! He did reverence to the Master saluting Him as Krishna, to the wonder of all. After this playful act the Son of Shachi vanished; none could see Him.