One day, while traveling with a group of santo, Bhagwan Shree Swaminarayan arrived at the grand stepwell (Vav) in the village of Adalaj. As the group descended into the cool depths of the architectural marvel, Nishkulanand Swami noticed an inscription carved into a stone and began to read it aloud at Shree Hari’s request.
The inscription told a moving story. It was written by Rudabai, the queen who had commissioned the stepwell’s construction at an immense cost. She wrote that she had not built this magnificent structure for fame, wealth, or to have her name remembered by history. Instead, her heart’s only desire was for her own spiritual liberation (Kalyan). Because she felt she had not met a truly great soul or Bhagwan during her own lifetime, she left a prayer: that one day in the future, Bhagwan or a great sadhu might visit this well, drink its water, and through that act, grant moksha to her soul.
Hearing the deep, selfless yearning of this soul from the past, Shree Hari was visibly moved. He turned to the santo and commanded, “Every sant must bathe in this well and drink its water”.
Shree Hari then entered the water Himself. He swam back and forth several times, bathing with great joy to honor Rudaba’s wish. After He and the santo had finished drinking the water, Shree Hari sat on a platform near the well and addressed those who had gathered. He did not only bless Rudaba who built the well, but He also extended His grace to the laborers who had worked on it, the oxen that had hauled the stones, and even the smallest insects that might have perished during its construction, granting them moksha.
Finally, Shree Hari revealed a divine secret: the devotion of Rudabai was so strong that she had been reborn as Queen Kushalkuvarba of Dharampur specifically to meet Him in person in this birth and complete her journey to the dham of Bhagwan.
This prasang has been documented by Sadguru Shree Adharanand Swami in Pur 7, Tarang 57 of Shree Haricharitramrut Sagar.