Overflowing with pride, Durmarṣaṇa advanced upon Krishna, bringing forth elephants born from the ocean to attack. Krishna sat with his wife atop Garuda, radiant like the sun upon a cloud with lightning, as Durmarṣaṇa hurled a mighty weapon meant to slay hundreds. At that moment, all the warriors joined in assault. But Krishna, the elder among mace-wielders, countered their attack with wondrous steeds and sharp arrows, severing arms, thighs, heads, and bodies, and slaying their horses and elephants. Whatever weapons and missiles the warriors launched, Krishna cut them down, each with his own sharp arrows and sword-bearing shafts. Garuda, carrying Krishna, struck the elephants with his wings, his beak, wings, and claws dispatching them swiftly. The army was routed, and Naraka, distressed by his forces’ defeat and Garuda’s torment, retreated into his city, fighting as he went. Naraka, the earth-born one, struck Krishna with his weapon, but even the thunderbolt he launched was repelled; Krishna, pierced by it, did not tremble, as an elephant would not flinch from a garland. In futile effort, Naraka seized a spear to kill Krishna, but before he could release it, Krishna, seated upon Garuda, severed Naraka’s head with the razor-edged discus. As Naraka’s head, adorned with earrings and a beautiful crown, fell to earth and shone brilliantly, the sages and lords of the gods exclaimed, “Alas! Well done!” and praised Krishna, showering him with garlands. Then the earth herself approached Krishna, bringing radiant earrings of refined gold and jewels, the Vaijayanti garland, a great jewel, and a royal umbrella, offering them to Krishna, the son of Prachetas. The goddess, worshipped by the greatest of gods, praised the Lord of the universe, her hands joined and mind devoted in loving reverence. Bhumi spoke: “Obeisance to you, Lord of gods, bearer of conch, discus, and mace; who assumes forms according to the wishes of your devotees, Supreme Soul, I bow to you. Salutations to you, lotus-naveled one; adorned with a garland of lotuses; lotus-eyed one; whose feet are like lotuses. Salutations to you, Bhagavan, Vasudeva, Vishnu, Supreme Person, original seed, one of complete knowledge. Obeisance to you, unborn creator of this universe, infinite in power, soul of all, supreme and immanent. You, desiring to create, O unborn Lord, assume fierce forms to bring about dissolution; for the stability of the worlds, you are sattva, O Lord of the universe; time, matter, and the supreme person—you are all these. Earth, water, fire, air, ether, the senses, gods, mind, and the great principle—all that moves and does not move, O Lord, in you, the non-dual, this delusion does not exist. This son of yours, frightened, has taken refuge at your lotus feet, seeking relief from distress; therefore, protect him—place your lotus hand, which removes all sin, upon his head.” Śuka explained: Thus addressed by Bhumi with words of devotion and humility, the Lord assured her and entered the opulent house of Naraka. There, Krishna found over sixteen thousand royal maidens, whom Naraka had seized from the kings. When Krishna entered, the women, bewildered, felt their hearts drawn to him as their chosen husband, brought to them by fate. Each of them, with her own feeling, prayed, “May this one become my husband, and may the Creator approve it,” giving her heart to Krishna. Krishna sent them to Dvaraka, dressed in spotless garments, accompanied by attendants, great treasures, chariots, horses, and abundant wealth. He also dispatched sixty-four swift, four-tusked, white elephants from the line of Airavata. Afterward, Krishna went to the abode of the lord of the gods, giving the earrings to Aditi, and was honored by the king of the gods and his beloved Indrani. Urged by his wife, Satyabhama, Krishna uprooted the Parijata tree, placed it on Garuda, and, having defeated Indra and the gods, brought the tree to his city. He established it for Satyabhama, enhancing the beauty of her house-garden; bees, greedy for its fragrance, followed it from heaven. Satyabhama bowed, touching Krishna’s feet with the tips of her crown, and begged for the fulfillment of her desire. By this, the great one is considered accomplished—alas, how deep is the darkness of pride among the gods! Then, in a single moment, Krishna, unchanging and assuming as many forms as needed, married those women in their various mansions. Dwelling in their homes, beyond all comparison and distinction, he remained, delighting with his consorts, immersed in his own desire, just as an ordinary householder lives with his wives. Thus, having attained the Lord of Lakshmi as their husband—whose path even Brahma and others do not know—the women, with joy and ever-increasing love, served him with smiles, glances, intimate union, playful words, and bashfulness. Hundreds of maidservants also rendered service to the Lord: meeting him, offering seats, worship, washing his feet, betel, rest, fanning, fragrant garlands, arranging his hair, preparing his bed, bathing, and presenting gifts. Thus concludes the fifty-ninth chapter, entitled “The Taking of the Parijata Tree and the Slaying of Naraka,” in the tenth book of the Śrīmad Bhāgavata Mahāpurāṇa, the scripture for the paramahaṃsas. Once, Bhāīṣmī attended to her husband, the teacher of the world, as he sat happily on his own bed, using a fan together with her companions. He, who by his play creates, sustains, and destroys the universe, was born among the Yadus for the sake of protecting the cows, his own kin. In that inner chamber, adorned with a hanging pearl necklace, a canopy, and jeweled lamps, with garlands of jasmine flowers and blossoms, and the hum of swarms of bees, pure moonlight entered through the lattice windows. Breezes carried the fragrance of the Parijata grove, rich with gardens, and incense of aloe wood wafted through the lattice openings. On a most excellent couch, white as milk foam, Bhāīṣmī attended her husband, the Lord of the worlds, as he sat comfortably. Taking a yak-tail fan with a jeweled handle from her companion, the goddess fanned the Lord, performing worship. Her anklets of jewels softly rang as she stepped, her hands adorned with rings, bangles, and the fan; her necklace reddened by the saffron of her hidden breasts beneath her garment; her hips encircled by a priceless girdle. She shone beside Krishna, Acyuta, radiant in loving service.