After the devastating war, Hari revived the prince within Uttarā’s womb, who had been scorched by Aśvatthāman’s deadly weapon. Thus, Parīkṣit was saved and later crowned king. Among the warriors, only Kṛtavarman, Kṛpa, and the son of Droṇa escaped the carnage; of the Pāṇḍavas, Sātyaki, and Kṛṣṇa, seven survived, and no others remained. Yudhiṣṭhira, accompanied by Bhīma and his brothers, comforted the grieving women, performed the funeral rites for the fallen heroes, and offered water and wealth as was proper. He listened closely to Bhīṣma, the son of Śāntanu, absorbing all his teachings on righteousness, peace, the duties of kings, liberation, and charity. Yudhiṣṭhira, the subduer of enemies, performed the great Aśvamedha sacrifice, bestowing gifts upon the brāhmaṇas. During this time, Arjuna recounted the tragic destruction of the Yādava clan, brought about by the curse and the club. When Yudhiṣṭhira was firmly established as king, Dhṛtarāṣṭra retired to the forest, as did Gāndhārī and Pṛthā, each seeking their own hermitage. Vidura, consumed by the fire of the forest, departed for heaven, and thus Viṣṇu removed the burden of the earth, including the demons. For the sake of righteousness and the destruction of unrighteousness, Viṣṇu made the Pāṇḍavas his instruments. Under the guise of a brāhmaṇa’s curse, he brought about the destruction of the Yādava clan with a club. He appointed Vajra, the burden-bearer of the Yādavas, to rule the kingdoms; then, by the command of the gods, Hari himself abandoned his body at Prabhāsa. In the realms of Indra and Brahmā, Hari is worshipped by the dwellers of heaven. Balabhadra, of infinite form, departed for the netherworld and heaven. Hari, the imperishable god, is perceived by meditators as the same eternal being; when he left, the ocean flooded the city of Dvārakā. Arjuna performed the rites for the Yādavas, offering water and wealth. Due to the curse of a crooked woman, the wives of Viṣṇu were left behind. Again, because of that curse, cowherds armed with clubs seized them; unable to protect them, Arjuna was overwhelmed with grief. Vyāsa consoled him, and Arjuna realized, “My strength was due to Kṛṣṇa’s presence.” Returning to Hastināpura, Arjuna reported everything to Yudhiṣṭhira. He gave his brother the bow, weapons, chariot, and horses. Without Kṛṣṇa, all these were lost, and the gifts were given to worthy brāhmaṇas. Upon hearing this, King Dharma established Parīkṣit on the throne. Yudhiṣṭhira, wise and aware of the impermanence of worldly existence, set out with Draupadi and his brothers. He recited the lost hundred names of Hari. Along the great path, Draupadi, Sahadeva, Nakula, Phalguna, and Bhima fell, leaving the king absorbed in sorrow. Then, carried by Indra’s chariot, Yudhiṣṭhira and his brothers attained heaven. There, seeing Duryodhana and others, and also Vasudeva, he was delighted. Agnī spoke: “I will now tell of the descent of wisdom, fruitful for those who recite and listen. In the ancient battle between gods and demons, the gods were defeated. Crying ‘Protect, protect!’ they sought refuge in the Lord, who, in the form of illusion and delusion, became the son of Shuddhodana. He bewildered the demons, causing them to abandon the Vedic religion and become Buddhists; others among them forsook the Vedas. Later, he became Arhata, and made others Arhatas, so heretics arose, devoid of the original Vedic religion. These performed actions leading to hell and accepted even the lowest; at the end of Kali Yuga, all will become mixed. Thieves lacking virtue, and the Vajasaneya Veda, will remain; ten and five branches will exist as the measure. Clad in the cloak of dharma, yet delighting in adharma, foreign kings will eat meat and drink. Kalki, son of Vishnuyasha, with Yajnavalkya as priest, will destroy the foreigners, taking up weapons and arms. He will establish proper boundaries for the four classes and all the orders, guiding people to the true path of dharma. After abandoning the form of Kalki, Hari will return to heaven, and the age called Krita will arise once more. The classes and orders will remain established in their own dharmas, as in all cycles and Manvantaras. The incarnations of Hari are countless—past, present, and future. Whoever recites or hears the ten incarnations of Viṣṇu, fulfilled in desire and pure, attains heaven with his family. Thus, Hari establishes the distinction between dharma and adharma. Agnī continued: “I will now speak of Viṣṇu’s play of creation. He, the creator of heaven and more, is the origin of creation, existence, qualities, and their absence. At first, only Brahma and the unmanifest existed; there was no sky, night, day, or anything else. Viṣṇu entered Prakriti and Purusha, stirring them. At the time of creation, the great principle arose, and from it came the sense of ‘I’. From this, threefold forms emerged: sattvic, rajasic, and tamasic. From the sense of ‘I’ arose the subtle element of sound, and from that, space; from touch, air; from form, fire; from taste, water; from smell, earth. From the tamasic aspect of ‘I’ came the senses; from the rajasic, the sense organs. From the sattvic aspect came the ten deities and the mind, making eleven sense faculties. Then the self-born Lord, desiring to create various beings, first created the waters, infusing them with his energy. These waters are called ‘nārā’, and are said to be the sons of Nara. Because they were his first abode, he is remembered as Nārāyaṇa. Then, a golden-hued egg appeared, resting upon the waters.