On another day, the sage Nārada, eager to understand the wondrous yoga-māyā of Krishna, the lord of yogis, entered the home of one of Krishna’s many wives. There, he found Krishna engaged in a game of dice, accompanied by his beloved and by Uddhava. Nārada was received with the highest devotion—Krishna and his companions rose to greet him, offered him a seat, and honored him with loving gestures. Krishna then addressed Nārada, as if unaware of his arrival, and asked, “When did you arrive, O Lord? What could those like us, incomplete, possibly do for one who is complete?” Still, Krishna requested, “O brāhmaṇa, tell us about this beautiful birth.” Nārada, astonished by Krishna’s manner and the depth of his play, rose silently and moved to another house. In that home, he saw Govinda delighting his young sons. In another, Krishna was preparing for his bath. Elsewhere, Nārada witnessed Krishna offering oblations into sacrificial fires, performing complex rituals, feeding the brāhmaṇas in some places, and in others, partaking of the remnants himself. In one place, Krishna was seated at twilight, reciting the Vedas with disciplined speech; elsewhere, he walked the paths of archers, sword and shield in hand. Nārada saw Krishna traveling with horses, elephants, and chariots, accompanied by Balarāma; in another residence, Krishna reclined on a couch, praised by bards. In some places, he consulted with ministers like Uddhava; elsewhere, he enjoyed water sports surrounded by the foremost women of the palace. Somewhere, Krishna was gifting beautifully adorned cows to eminent brāhmaṇas; in another place, he listened to auspicious histories and Purāṇas. Sometimes, Krishna laughed at home with his beloved, sharing humorous stories; elsewhere, he pursued dharma, and in other places, wealth and desire. In one home, he sat alone, meditating on the Supreme Person beyond nature; elsewhere, he served his teachers with pleasures and offerings. In some places, Keśava made treaties, in others, he made war; elsewhere, together with Rāma, he contemplated the welfare of the virtuous. At the proper time, Krishna arranged the marriages of his sons and daughters with spouses equal to them, providing them with suitable wealth. He observed grand festivals for his children, such as their departures and initiations, astonishing the worlds with his mastery of yoga-māyā. Elsewhere, he worshipped all the gods with powerful sacrifices; in other places, he fulfilled dharma through wells, gardens, monasteries, and similar acts. Nārada saw Krishna hunting, riding a Sindhu horse and surrounded by the foremost of the Yadus, and performing sacrificial animal offerings. With his unmanifest form, Krishna moved among the inner apartments and elsewhere, desiring to experience various states. Witnessing all this, Nārada smiled and spoke to Hṛṣīkeśa, having observed the manifestation of yoga-māyā and Krishna’s human-like conduct. He said, “We know your yoga-māyā, which even those skilled in illusion find difficult to perceive. It shines forth from you, the Lord of yogis, through service at your feet. Permit me, O Lord, to depart for the worlds flooded with your fame; I will wander, singing your playful deeds that purify the universe.” The Blessed Lord replied, “I am the speaker and agent of the duties of householders, acting with their approval. Teaching this, I have taken up this world—do not grieve, my son.” Śuka then explained: As Krishna practiced the pure duties that sanctify householders, Nārada saw the Lord present in every home, the one abiding everywhere. Repeatedly witnessing the immense display of Krishna’s yoga-māyā, the sage was astonished and filled with curiosity. Thus, honored fully by Krishna, who was devoted to the duties of wealth, pleasure, and righteousness, Nārada departed, remembering only Him, pleased. In this way, following the path of human life, Nārāyaṇa—whose power is taken up for the sake of all beings—enjoyed himself among sixteen thousand chosen women, surrounded by their bashful, friendly glances and smiles. Whatever actions Hari performed here, which are the cause of the creation and dissolution of the universe and have no other object, whoever sings, hears, or approves them, devotion arises for the Lord on the path of liberation. Thus ends the sixty-ninth chapter, ‘The Vision of Krishna’s Household Life,’ in the tenth book, second half, of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, the great Purāṇa, the scripture of the supreme swan. Śuka continued: Then, as dawn approached and roosters crowed, Krishna’s wives, afflicted by separation, were embraced by their husbands. The birds, awakening, seemed to praise Krishna, singing sleepless songs stirred by gentle breezes from the Mandara forest. For a moment, Vaidarbhi could not bear the beautiful separation from her beloved’s embrace, having nestled between his arms. At the Brahma hour, Mādhava rose, touched water, and with a clear mind, meditated on himself—the one beyond darkness. He is the self-luminous, unique, imperishable, eternally pure by his own nature, called Brahman, whose manifestation and dissolution are caused by his own powers, and whose bliss is revealed through those energies. Then, having bathed properly in pure water and donned clean garments, Krishna, the most virtuous, performed the sequence of rituals: he offered fire, recited Brahman with controlled speech. Presenting himself to the rising sun, he satisfied the portions of his own self, worshipped the gods, sages, ancestors, elders, and Brahmins, being self-possessed. He gave to the Brahmins cows with golden horns, virtuous, adorned with pearl garlands, yielding milk, healthy, with calves and fine clothing. Day after day, he gave to decorated Brahmins cows with silver-tipped hooves, along with linen, deer skins, and sesame seeds. He bowed to cows, Brahmins, deities, elders, teachers, and to all living beings; then, touching auspicious objects born from himself, he invoked blessings. He adorned himself—the ornament of mankind—with his own garments, jewels, divine garlands, and fragrant ointments. He observed the sacrificial fire and the mirror, gave gifts to cows, bulls, Brahmins, and deities, and fulfilled the desires of all classes—citizens and women of the palace—pleasing them and receiving their blessings.