A man named Wadkoba would daily come to be with Narayan, and love for this young sadhu captured his heart. Wadkoba was awestruck at the divine qualities he detected in this youth. After some time Narayan moved from Bahiroba's temple to the home of another Marwari, named Roop Chand, who had devotedly made arrangements for Narayan's comfort.
One day Narayan visited Wadkoba's house, where he met Trimbak Rao who was from Kopargaon but resided in Arvi. Trimbak was immediately attracted to Narayan, and he inquired if Narayan would accompany him to Arvi. Narayan agreed, and the elated Trimbak and the young sadhu departed.
Trimbak Rao and his wife Lakshmi had no children of their own and with true devotion worshiped the Hindu god Mudhraleshwar in hope of being blessed with a son. While Trimbak was on his way to Arvi with Narayan, Lakshmi had a dream. In it a voice told her, "The youth who is coming to your house is a great saint. Look after him well and treat him as your own son." Within an hour of the dream, her husband and the youth arrived, and Lakshmi welcomed Narayan with great reverence. On another occasion, when Lakshmi was worshiping in the Mudhraleshwar temple, Narayan appeared to her in a vision and said, "I am your son. There is no more need to pray for one." In this way, Lakshmi's prayers were fulfilled and Narayan ceased to be an orphan. Lakshmi served Narayan with great devotion and he treated her graciously in return as if she were in fact his mother.
Days passed, then months, peacefully and contentedly. But the arrow of the Song was piercing Narayan's heart, and no one except he knew of its pain. The Song was making him restless again, urging him somewhere else, and Narayan longed to seek its source and die in its flame. Narayan heard the Song within softly chanting to him to journey to Ganagapur, a place sacred to the devotees of Dattatrey .1 Narayan could no longer remain with his adopted family in Arvi while swimming in an ocean of restlessness. He earnestly began preparing to set off for Ganagapur, but Lakshmi's tears at the thought of his departure delayed him. During his six-month stay at their home, Narayan had become the son that Trimbak and Lakshmi had never begotten and it was impossible for the mother to let her adopted son leave.
Footnotes
- 1.Hindus believe Dattatrey is the Lord of the Trinity of Brahma (Creator), Vishnu (Preserver) and Mahesh (Dissolver), whose presence can be felt especially in Ganagapur.