Arjuna, reflecting with heartfelt emotion, spoke to his kinsman of the extraordinary favor he had received from Lord Kṛṣṇa. He recalled how, by that grace alone, he had crossed the boundless ocean of the Kuru army, riding a single chariot amidst the valor of great heroes. With Kṛṣṇa’s support, he recovered immense wealth and jewels from the enemy, even claiming their radiant jeweled crowns. He remembered Kṛṣṇa as the supreme charioteer, who moved ahead of him in battle, shining among the best chariots on spotless nights. Facing formidable warriors like Bhīṣma, Karṇa, Droṇa, Śalya, and others, it was by Kṛṣṇa’s mere glance that the strength and minds of Arjuna’s enemies were subdued. Arjuna marveled that, through the Lord’s grace, the mighty and unfailing weapons of those great warriors—Bhīṣma, Karṇa, Droṇa, Śalya, Saindhava—could not touch him, just as the weapons of demons could not harm Nṛhari, the servant of Hari. He recalled the battle at Prabhāsa, where, surrounded by those of evil intent, the Lord—whose lotus feet are worshipped by the virtuous for liberation—protected him. Even when his horses were exhausted and he stood vulnerable on the earth, the enemy charioteers, bewildered by Kṛṣṇa’s influence, could not attack. The memory of Kṛṣṇa’s noble, playful words, adorned with a charming smile—calling him “O Pārtha! O Arjuna! Friend! Joy of the Kurus!”—touched Arjuna’s heart, melting even its hardness when remembered. Arjuna confessed that, sharing the same bed, seat, walking, talking, and eating together, he was sometimes deceived, thinking Kṛṣṇa his equal, as a friend with a friend or a father with his son. Yet, out of great affection, Kṛṣṇa tolerated all his offenses born of ignorance. Now, bereft of that Supreme Person—his dear friend and beloved companion—Arjuna’s heart felt empty. Though he had the protection of Kṛṣṇa’s great deeds, he likened himself to a woman defeated by thieves, left helpless. The bow, arrows, chariot, horses, and Arjuna himself as charioteer—before whom even kings would bow—had, in a moment, become powerless and useless, like offerings cast into ashes by illusion. Arjuna lamented that, by divine will, the Yadus, who were not true friends to their own city, became deluded by the curse of the brāhmaṇas and began to strike each other with their fists. Having drunk the liquor Vāruṇī, their minds agitated by intoxication, they fought among themselves, not recognizing each other, leaving only four or five survivors. He reflected that this was the Lord’s inscrutable way: living beings destroy and foster each other by His arrangement. Just as in water the larger aquatic creatures devour the smaller, so among men the strong overcome the weak. In this way, the Lord removed the burden of the earth by causing the mighty Yadus to destroy each other. Arjuna’s heart was soothed by remembering the words spoken by Govinda, appropriate to time, place, and circumstance, which relieved distress and captivated the mind. As Arjuna contemplated the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa with deep affection, his mind became peaceful and pure. Purified by devotion and constant meditation on Vāsudeva’s feet, Arjuna attained the highest consciousness. He recalled the knowledge sung by the Blessed Lord on the battlefield, overcoming the darkness of time, fate, and delusion. Freed from sorrow by attaining the state of Brahman, with all doubts and duality cut away, he merged in nature beyond the modes, transcending bodily identification and birth. Yudhiṣṭhira, hearing of the Lord’s departure and the end of the Yadu dynasty, composed his mind and resolved to follow the path to higher realms. Pṛthā, too, upon hearing from Arjuna of the destruction of the Yadus and the Lord’s departure, fixed her mind in exclusive devotion to the transcendent Lord and withdrew from the cycle of birth and death. The unborn Lord, who had removed the burden of the earth, abandoned His body just as one thorn is removed by another, discarding both together. Like an actor who assumes and then abandons forms—such as that of a fish—He relinquished that body. When Mukunda, the Blessed Lord, left this earth along with His auspicious form, at that very moment, Kali—the cause of unrighteousness—began to act upon those whose minds were not awakened. Yudhiṣṭhira, wise and discerning, observed the advance of Kali manifesting as greed, falsehood, and violence in his city, kingdom, household, and himself, and thus prepared to depart. Seeing his own grandson, equal in virtues and discipline, he installed him as lord of the earth at Hastināpura, on the banks of the Ganges. In Mathurā, he installed Vajra as chief of the Śūrasenas, and then, performing the proper rites, he drank the sacrificial fire. There, having relinquished all attachments—relatives, followers, possessions—Yudhiṣṭhira became free from possessiveness and ego, severing all bonds. He offered his speech into his mind, his mind into his breath, and his senses into darkness; his outgoing breath into death, thus entering the state of dissolution. He offered the five elements into each other, then into unity, and finally everything into the Self, and the Self into the imperishable Brahman. Clad in bark, fasting, with matted hair and head uncovered, he appeared as if dull, mad, or possessed, revealing his true form. Indifferent, he departed, not hearing like one deaf, and entered the northern path, as the great souls had done before, meditating on the Supreme Brahman in his heart, from which he would not return. All his brothers, having resolved firmly, followed him, for the people of the earth had been afflicted by Kali, the friend of unrighteousness. Having fulfilled all duties virtuously and knowing the ultimate goal of the self, they fixed their minds on the lotus feet of the Lord of Vaikuṇṭha. With unwavering devotion and purified intellect, they fixed their minds solely on the supreme abode of Nārāyaṇa. They attained that exceedingly rare state, which cannot be reached by those attached to sense objects and impurity, but is gained only by the pure soul. Vidura too, renouncing his body at Prabhāsa, absorbed his mind in Kṛṣṇa and, united in consciousness with his forefathers, went to his own abode. At that time, Draupadī, perceiving the detachment of her husbands, fixed her mind exclusively on Lord Vāsudeva, the Blessed One, and attained that state. Whoever faithfully hears this account of the departure of Pāṇḍu’s beloved sons, which is most purifying and auspicious, attains devotion to Hari and perfection. Then, Parīkṣit, the great devotee, ruled the earth according to the instructions of the foremost brāhmaṇas, just as expert guides direct a noble child at birth. He married Irāvatī, the daughter of Uttara, and from her he begot four sons, beginning with Janamejaya.