Having discovered their steadfast protector, King Mucukunda, deep within a mountain cave, the gods approached him and spoke with gentle reverence: “O king, please cease these arduous labors you have undertaken for our protection. O hero, you abandoned the world of men and a kingdom free from enemies, forsaking all personal desires solely to guard us. But now, your sons, wives, relatives, ministers, counselors, and even your subjects of the same age—all have departed from this world. “Time, the almighty and imperishable Lord, is mightier than the mightiest. Playfully, He brings all beings to their end, just as a herdsman drives cattle to their final rest. Therefore, O blessed one, choose a boon—good fortune to you—anything but liberation, for that is not within our power to grant. Only one Lord, the imperishable Bhagavān Viṣṇu, holds that gift.” Hearing these words, the illustrious Mucukunda bowed respectfully to the gods, then entered the cave and lay down, overtaken by a divine sleep. Much later, when the Yavana invader was consumed by fire, the Blessed Lord Himself—the best of the Sātvatas—appeared before the wise Mucukunda. Mucukunda beheld a wondrous sight: the Lord stood before him, dark as a rain-laden cloud, clad in radiant yellow silk, the Śrīvatsa mark gleaming on His chest, and the Kaustubha gem shining brilliantly. He had four resplendent arms, adorned with the Vaijayantī garland, a face of exquisite beauty and grace, sparkling makara earrings, and eyes that smiled with affectionate warmth. Ever youthful, majestic as a proud lion, He was the very embodiment of noble prowess, a vision to delight all humanity. Overwhelmed by the Lord’s effulgence, Mucukunda, cautious and awestruck, gently questioned this unconquerable presence: “Who are you, O Lord, who has entered this forest and mountain cave, wandering with lotus-petal-like feet among the thorny undergrowth? What light among the radiant ones—be it the Lord, fire, sun, moon, Indra, or any guardian of the worlds—can compare to yours? I deem you the highest among the gods of gods, for you dispel the darkness of this cave as a lamp banishes night. “O best of men, if it pleases you, please tell us—who long to serve you without fault—about your birth, your deeds, and your lineage. As for us, O tiger among men, we are of the Ikṣvāku dynasty, kṣatriya kin. I am called Mucukunda, son of Yuvanāśva, O Lord. Exhausted from long wakefulness, my senses dulled by sleep, I lay here alone until someone awakened me just now. That person, surely burned to ashes by his own wickedness, vanished, and immediately after, you, glorious and famed for subduing enemies, appeared before me. Your unbearable radiance is so great that I cannot gaze upon you. O illustrious one, you are worthy of the highest honor among embodied beings.” Thus addressed, the Lord, creator of all beings, smiled and replied, His voice deep as thunderclouds: “My births, deeds, and names are countless, O friend; even I cannot enumerate them, for they are infinite. Sometimes I have examined my earthly births among the great, but my manifestations are never limited by qualities, deeds, or names. My births and actions span all three times—past, present, and future—and even the greatest sages, tracing them in order, can never reach their end. “Yet, O friend, listen as I speak of my present birth. Long ago, at Brahmā’s request, I descended to protect dharma. To relieve the earth’s burden and destroy the asuras, I have taken birth in the Yadu dynasty, in the house of Anakadundubhi. People call me Vāsudeva, the son of Vasudeva. Kalanemi, Kaṁsa, Pralamba, and other evil ones have been slain; this Yavana too has been burned, O king, by your fierce gaze. I have come to this cave for your sake, to show you favor, for you prayed to me greatly in the past, and I am ever devoted to my devotees. Choose your boons, O royal sage; I grant you all desires. One who has my favor need never grieve again.” Śuka then said: Thus addressed, Mucukunda, filled with joy, bowed to the Lord, recognizing Him as Nārāyaṇa and recalling the words of the sage Garga. Mucukunda spoke with humility: “O Lord, people are deluded by your māyā and do not worship you, seeing only misfortune. Seeking happiness, they become attached to home, women, and men, and are deceived. O sinless one, when a person attains this rare human birth—sound in body and without effort—yet fails to worship Your lotus feet due to a misguided mind, he falls into the dark well of household life, like an animal. “O Unconquered Lord, my own time has passed fruitlessly, intoxicated by royal opulence, absorbed in the mortal conception of self, and deeply attached to children, wife, wealth, and possessions, tormented by endless anxieties. In this body, which is like a clay pot, I was established as ‘king of men,’ surrounded by chariots, elephants, horses, infantry, and retinues, roaming the earth in great arrogance, not counting anyone else. “Intoxicated, I was absorbed in loud thoughts of what to do next, with ever-increasing greed for sense pleasures. But You, unbewildered, approach suddenly, O Death, like a snake licking at the mouth of a mouse’s hole. Once I rode in chariots adorned with gold or on mighty elephants, called ‘king of men’; but by the inescapable force of time, this very body becomes known as excrement, worms, or ashes. “Having conquered all directions, assuming a form as vast as the earth, seated on a splendid throne and honored by other kings, a man is led, O Lord, like a plaything of women, into the pleasures of home, as a beast for their sport. Even one who performs actions, firmly established in austerity, renouncing enjoyment and giving charity as required, again desires, ‘May I become a sovereign king,’ and with growing thirst, does not attain happiness. “When, after wandering through worldly existence, a person attains liberation, O Infallible One, it is then that he gains the association of the virtuous; and when such association occurs, at that very moment, devotion to You, Lord of all, arises. “O Lord, I consider it Your great favor that, by chance, attachment to kingdom has been removed from my heart—something sought by the virtuous, who, desiring to enter the forest, renounce the vast expanse of land. O Master, I desire no boon other than service at Your feet, which is most sought after even by those who have nothing. For who, having worshiped You, the giver of liberation, would choose any other boon that binds the soul?