Then, thoughtful and full of devotion, Surabhi, the celestial mother of cows, approached Krishna, who stood there in his cowherd form, accompanied by her offspring. With great reverence, she bowed before him and offered her respects. Addressing him with heartfelt words, Surabhi said, “Krishna, Krishna, great yogi, soul of the universe, origin of all, you are the one by whose protection we, the cows and all beings, are sustained, O infallible Lord of the worlds. You alone are our supreme deity, not Indra. You exist for the welfare of cows, brahmins, gods, and all the virtuous ones. Prompted by Brahmā, we have come to anoint you, O Indra among beings, for you have descended as the Soul of the Universe to relieve the earth of its burden.” Thus, having invited Krishna, Surabhi began the sacred anointing. She bathed him with her own milk, while waters brought by Airāvata, the great elephant of the heavens, from the celestial Gaṅgā, were poured over him. Indra himself, accompanied by the sages among the gods and prompted by the mothers of the gods, joined in this divine consecration. They anointed Krishna, the illustrious descendant of the Daśārha dynasty, and honored him with the name Govinda, lord of the cows. At that auspicious moment, Tumburu, Nārada, and other celestial beings—Gandharvas, Vidyādharas, Siddhas, and Cāraṇas—arrived, singing the glorious fame of Hari, which purifies the worlds. Celestial women danced joyously in celebration. The leaders of the divine hosts extolled Krishna, showering wondrous rains of flowers from the heavens. The three worlds were filled with supreme delight, and the cows, overjoyed, gave forth abundant streams of milk. Nature herself rejoiced: rivers and trees flowed with honey, grains and herbs sprang forth without cultivation, and the mountains revealed precious gems. In that blessed time, all creatures, even those who were naturally cruel, became free from enmity, for Krishna’s anointing brought peace and harmony to all beings. After the consecration, Indra, with the gods and other celestial beings, respectfully took leave of Krishna—Govinda, lord of the cows and cowherds—and returned to their heavenly abodes with Krishna’s permission. Thereafter, it is taught that one should worship Durgā, Vināyaka, Vyāsa, Viṣvaksena, the teachers, and the gods, each facing their own direction, with offerings such as sprinkling and other rites. Bathing the deity daily with fragrant substances—sandalwood, camphor, kuṅkuma, aguru, and scented waters—should be performed with proper mantras, as resources allow. The worshipper is to recite hymns such as the Svarṇagharman, Mahāpuruṣa-vidyā, Pauruṣa Sūkta, and various Sāman hymns. With love, the devotee adorns the Lord with garments, sacred threads, ornaments, garlands of leaves, and fragrant ointments. He offers water for washing the feet, for sipping, fragrances, flowers, unbroken rice, incense, lamps, and other offerings with unwavering faith. Sweet rice with jaggery, clarified butter, fried cakes, rice cakes, sweets, curd, soup, and other foods are prepared as available. Daily and on festival days, the devotee performs various acts of service—oiling, massaging, providing mirrors, tooth-cleaning, bathing, food, drink, singing, and dancing—offering them all with devotion. In a consecrated fire-pit, kindling the sacred fire with proper fuel and altar, and spreading kuśa grass, the worshipper sprinkles the area, places offerings as prescribed, purifies them with water, and offers them to the Lord. He meditates on Krishna as resplendent as molten gold, bearing conch, discus, mace, and lotus, shining with four arms, tranquil, and clad in garments the color of lotus filaments. The Lord is radiant with crown, bracelets, waistband, splendid armlets, adorned with the Śrīvatsa mark 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, offering portions to ancestors and gods before presenting the main oblation. After worship and prostration, he gives gifts to the attendants, recites the root mantra, contemplates Brahman, and remembers the essence of Nārāyaṇa. He offers water for sipping and the remnants to Viṣvaksena, then presents fragrant mouth-fresheners like betel. Singing, praising, dancing, and enacting the Lord’s deeds, narrating and listening to Krishna’s stories, he becomes absorbed in devotion. With hymns from the Purāṇas and even common speech, he extols the Lord, prays for grace, and prostrates himself, placing his head at Krishna’s feet and his arms crossed, imploring, “Protect me, O Lord! I have surrendered, frightened by the ocean of death and its snares.” With reverence, he places the Lord’s prasāda upon his head, and if the worship is to be concluded, he respectfully returns the offering to the light, and again to the supreme light. Wherever there is faith in worship, he should worship the Lord there, for Krishna is present in all beings and within the self as the universal soul. By the paths of ritual and yoga, both Vedic and Tantric, one who worships thus attains from the Lord the perfection he desires. Establishing the Lord’s image, one should build a firm temple, with delightful flower gardens for worship and festivals. For the ongoing flow of worship and related rites, on great festivals and daily, he should dedicate fields, shops, towns, and villages, thereby attaining the Lord’s realm. By consecration, one becomes sovereign over the three worlds with a residence; by worship and similar acts, he attains Brahma’s world, and by threefold practice, equality with the Lord. Through exclusive devotion and yoga, he attains Krishna alone; thus, whoever worships the Lord attains the path of devotion. But whoever takes what is given to the gods or Brahmins for their maintenance, whether by himself or another, becomes a dung-eater for tens of thousands of years. For the sake of the doer, the essence, and the approver, those who share in the actions, after death, repeatedly obtain the greater fruit of those deeds. Now, on the eleventh day, Nanda, fasting, worshipped Janārdana. On the twelfth, he entered the waters of the Kālindī (Yamunā) to bathe. But at that moment, a servant of Varuṇa, an asura, seized him and brought him before Varuṇa, for Nanda had entered the waters at night, crossing the asuric boundary. The cowherds, unable to find Nanda, cried out in distress, “Krishna! Rama!” Hearing their anxious calls, Krishna, the Blessed Lord who grants fearlessness to his own, understood that his father had been taken by Varuṇa. Mighty and compassionate, he went at once to that place, intent on rescuing his beloved father.