Śuka continued his narration: After Krishna had subdued Indra’s pride, the king of the gods, Maghavan, praised Krishna with deep reverence. Krishna, the Blessed One, smiled gently, and his voice, resonant as thunderclouds, addressed Indra. He said, “O Maghavan, I disrupted your sacrifice not out of anger, but to show you my favor. In this way, you would always remember me and not become intoxicated by the glory of being Indra. One who is blinded by pride in their wealth and power fails to see the true Lord, the wielder of the rod of discipline. Whenever I wish to bestow mercy on such a person, I take away their prosperity, so that they may see clearly.” Krishna then blessed Indra, saying, “Go now, Śakra. May all be well with you. Follow my instruction: remain steadfast in your duties, free from pride, and properly engaged in your responsibilities.” Thus instructed, Indra was humbled and restored to his path. At that moment, Surabhi, the divine mother of cows, approached Krishna thoughtfully, accompanied by her offspring. She bowed before Krishna, who stood there in his cowherd form, and offered her heartfelt respects. Surabhi prayed, “Krishna, Krishna, great yogi, soul of the universe, origin of all! By you—the Lord of the worlds—we are protected, O infallible one. You alone are our supreme deity, not Indra. For the welfare of cows, brahmins, gods, and all the virtuous, you exist. Prompted by Brahma, we shall anoint you, O true Indra, for you have descended as the soul of the universe to relieve the burden of the earth.” So, with great reverence, Surabhi bathed Krishna with her own milk, and with pure waters brought by Airāvata, Indra’s elephant, from the celestial Gaṅgā. Indra, now joined by the sages among the gods and prompted by the mothers of the gods, anointed Krishna, the descendant of the Daśārha lineage, addressing him as Govinda, the protector of cows. At this sacred moment, Tumburu, Nārada, and other celestial beings—Gandharvas, Vidyādharas, Siddhas, and Cāraṇas—arrived. They sang the glories of Hari, Krishna, whose fame purifies the worlds, while the celestial women danced with joy. The leaders of the divine hosts praised Krishna, showering him with wondrous rains of flowers. The three worlds rejoiced in supreme delight, and the cows, blessed by Krishna’s presence, gave forth abundant streams of milk. Everywhere, rivers and trees flowed with honey, grains and herbs grew without cultivation, and the mountains yielded precious gems. On that auspicious day, when Krishna was anointed, even beings who were naturally cruel became free from enmity. Thus, after anointing Govinda, the lord of cows and cowherds, Indra, with Krishna’s permission and accompanied by the other gods, returned to heaven. Thereafter, Krishna spoke of the proper way to worship the divine. He instructed that one should worship Durgā, Vināyaka, Vyāsa, Viṣvaksena, the teachers, and the gods, each facing their proper direction, with offerings such as sprinkling and other rites. Using sandalwood, camphor, kuṅkuma, aguru, and fragrant waters, the deity should be bathed daily with appropriate mantras, if resources allow. The worshipper should recite the Svarṇagharman hymn, the Mahāpuruṣa-vidyā, the Pauruṣa Sūkta, and Sāman hymns, as is proper. He further instructed that the devotee should adorn the Lord with garments, sacred threads, ornaments, garlands of leaves, and fragrant ointments, all offered with love. With water for washing the feet, water for sipping, fragrant substances, flowers, unbroken rice, incense, lamps, and other offerings, the worshipper should present them with faith. Offerings such as sweet rice with jaggery, clarified butter, fried cakes, rice cakes, sweets, curd, soup, and other foods should be prepared as available. Daily and on festival days, one should anoint, massage, provide mirrors, clean the teeth, bathe, offer food and drink, sing, and dance for the Lord. In the prescribed manner, a consecrated fire-pit should be prepared—girdled, fueled, and with a proper altar—where the fire is kindled and gathered as directed. After spreading kuśa grass and purifying the area with sprinkling, the offerings are placed as prescribed, purified with water, and then, approaching the fire, the devotee offers them to Krishna. One should meditate on Krishna as resplendent as molten gold, bearing the conch, discus, mace, and lotus, shining with four arms, serene, and clad in garments the color of lotus filaments. He is radiant with crown, bracelets, waistband, and armlets, adorned with the mark of Śrīvatsa on his chest, the Kaustubha gem, and a garland of forest flowers. While meditating and worshipping, the devotee places the wooden offerings and those soaked in clarified butter into the fire; after making the offerings to the ancestors and the gods, the main oblation immersed in ghee is presented. Having worshipped and bowed, the devotee offers gifts to the attendants, recites the root mantra, and contemplates Brahman, remembering the essence of Nārāyaṇa. After giving water for sipping and the remnants, the devotee prepares them for Viṣvaksena, and offers fragrant mouth-fresheners, such as betel, as appropriate. Singing, praising, dancing, and enacting the Lord’s deeds, narrating and listening to his stories—even for a moment—the worshipper becomes absorbed in Krishna’s presence. With hymns both exalted and simple, with praises from the Purāṇas and even common speech, the devotee extols Krishna, prays for his grace, and prostrates fully. Placing his head at Krishna’s feet, arms crossed, he implores, “Protect me, O Lord! I have surrendered to you, frightened by the ocean of death and its snares.” With reverence, he places the remainder of Krishna’s offering upon his head. If the worship is to be concluded, he respectfully returns the offering to the light, and again to the supreme light. Whenever and wherever there is faith in worship and similar acts, the devotee should worship Krishna there, for he is present in all beings and within the self, as the universal soul. Thus, by the paths of ritual and yoga—both Vedic and Tantric—one who worships attains from Krishna the desired perfection in both ways. Establishing Krishna’s image, one should build a firm temple and create delightful flower gardens for worship and festivals. For the ongoing flow of worship and related rites, on great festivals and daily, one should dedicate fields, shops, towns, and villages, thereby attaining Krishna’s realm. By consecration, one becomes sovereign over the three worlds; through worship and related acts, one attains Brahma’s world, and by all three, one attains equality with Krishna. Through exclusive devotion and yoga, one attains Krishna alone; thus, whoever worships him truly obtains the path of devotion. But Krishna warned: Whoever takes what has been given for the gods or Brahmins, for their maintenance—whether by himself or by others—such a person becomes a dung-eater for tens of thousands of years. Thus, Krishna’s instructions and the events of his anointing by the gods and the divine cow were recounted, showing the supreme path of devotion and the rightful way to worship the Lord.