Why did Sai Baba accept money from one man from Goa but reject a larger sum from his companion?

The text in Chapter 36 of the Shri Sai Satcharitra sets up this question as a central mystery but does not provide an immediate answer. It describes the event where two men from Goa visited, and Sai asked for and received fifteen rupees from one, while flatly rejecting an unsolicited offer of thirty-five rupees from the other. The chapter explicitly states that this act of "partiality" caused great surprise among all the onlookers. Madhavrao (Shama) was so perplexed that he asked Sai for an explanation. Therefore, according to the information available in this part of Chapter 36, the reason for Baba's action is not yet revealed; the narrative only establishes the puzzling event and the fact that an explanation was requested.