The sages addressed Rāma with solemn resolve, saying, “Let it be so, O Rāma. May your word, the potency of your weapon, and even death for us—all remain true.” In reply, the Blessed Lord spoke, “The Veda declares that the self is indeed born again as the son. Therefore, let the son of this sage be restored as the speaker, endowed with life, senses, and strength.” Then, turning to the sages, the Lord asked, “What is your wish, O best of sages? Speak, and I shall fulfill it. Please consider, O wise ones, how I may atone for my unknowing deed.” The sages replied, “There is a fierce demon named Balvala, son of Ilvala, who comes at every sacred festival and defiles our sacrifice. O descendant of Daśārha, our highest wish is that you slay this wicked one for us. He showers pus, blood, excrement, urine, liquor, and flesh upon us, desecrating our holy rites.” The Lord listened with compassion and understanding. The sages continued, “After you have left the land of Bharata with a steady mind, wandering for twelve months and bathing at holy places, you shall become purified.” Much later, the king spoke, his heart full of longing: “O venerable one, I wish to hear more of the heroic deeds of Mukunda, that great soul whose power is infinite. Tell me, O master, for who, having once heard the sacred stories of the praiseworthy Lord, would ever cease listening—unless he is deeply afflicted by the arrows of desire and ignorant of their true worth?” The king continued, “That speech alone is truly speech which praises His qualities; those hands alone are truly hands which perform His deeds; that mind alone is truly a mind which remembers Him dwelling among all beings; and those ears alone are truly ears which listen to His holy stories. That head alone is truly a head which bows to Him who bears both forms; those eyes alone truly see which behold Him; those limbs are truly limbs which always serve the water that has washed the feet of Viṣṇu or His devotees.” At this, Sūta said, “Thus questioned by Viṣṇurāta, the blessed son of Badarāyaṇa, whose heart was immersed in the Lord Vāsudeva, began to speak.” Śuka spoke: “Kṛṣṇa had a certain brāhmaṇa friend, learned in the Veda, detached from sense pleasures, peaceful of mind, and self-controlled. He lived as a householder, sustaining himself with whatever came by chance. His wife, thin from hunger, was just like him—her clothing in tatters. One day, that devoted wife, her face pale and trembling with suffering, approached her impoverished husband and spoke gently: ‘O brāhmaṇa, is not the Lord, the husband of Śrī herself, your friend? He is devoted to the brāhmaṇas, the refuge of all, and the exalted Lord of the Sātvatas. Go to Him, O blessed one, who is the supreme shelter of the virtuous. He will surely grant abundant wealth to you, a householder in distress. He now resides in Dvārakā as the Lord of the Bhojas, Vṛṣṇis, and Andhakas. Even as He remembers His own lotus feet, He offers Himself to His devotees. Why would the teacher of the world not grant the desired objects—even those not sought—to one who worships Him?’ Thus entreated again and again by his gentle wife, the brāhmaṇa thought, ‘Indeed, the greatest gain is to see the Lord, who is praised in the highest hymns.’ Thinking thus, he resolved to go. He asked his wife, ‘Is there any gift at home, O good lady? Let me take something with me.’ She went and begged four handfuls of flat rice from the brāhmaṇas, tied them in a piece of cloth, and gave them to her husband as a gift. Taking them, the foremost brāhmaṇa set out for Dvārakā, pondering, ‘How might I obtain a vision of Kṛṣṇa?’ He passed through three enclosures and three courtyards, entering the homes of the Andhakas and Vṛṣṇis, who followed the path of the infallible Lord. He entered one of the houses of Hari’s sixteen thousand queens and, as if attaining divine bliss, became filled with joy. Seeing him from afar, Acyuta—who was seated on his beloved’s couch—immediately rose, approached him, and joyfully embraced him with both arms. Delighted by the touch of his dear friend, the sage among the twice-born, the lotus-eyed Lord was overwhelmed with joy, and tears streamed from His eyes. Then, seating his friend upon the couch, the Lord Himself performed the proper honors, bringing water and washing his guest’s feet with His own hands. O King, the Lord, purifier of the worlds, respectfully took the water with His head and anointed His guest with divine fragrances of sandalwood, aguru, and saffron. With fragrant incense and rows of lamps, He worshipped His friend with joy, offered him betel nut, and, after presenting a cow, spoke words of welcome. The goddess herself served the twice-born, who was clad in worn, soiled garments, emaciated, and with veins prominent, by fanning him with a yak-tail fan. Seeing the avadhūta so honored by Kṛṣṇa of spotless fame, the women of the inner chambers were amazed and filled with great affection. They wondered, ‘What pious act has this avadhūta, this mendicant, performed—he who is destitute of fortune, despised and lowly in this world?’ He, so honored by Śrīnivāsa, the preceptor of the three worlds, was embraced like an elder brother, even as the goddess of fortune remained seated on the couch. They began to recount delightful stories from their time together in their preceptor’s house, O King, holding each other's hands as they spoke. The Blessed Lord asked, “O brāhmaṇa, after you completed your studies in the preceptor’s house and offered the proper fee, did you marry a suitable wife or not, O knower of dharma? I know well, wise one, that your mind is not attached to household life or to wealth, for you act without desire and take little pleasure in such things. Some perform actions, their minds deluded by desire, abandoning their divine natures, just as I do for the sake of maintaining the world. O brāhmaṇa, do you remember our time living together in the preceptor’s house? For the twice-born, by knowing what is to be known, crosses beyond darkness. Indeed, he is the very origin here of those devoted to righteous action, born of the twice-born, and the foremost among those in the āśramas, just as I am the giver of knowledge and the teacher. O brāhmaṇa, those skilled in the true meaning, among those who follow varṇa and āśrama, easily cross the ocean of worldly existence by My instruction as their teacher. I, the indwelling soul of all beings, am not satisfied by worship, offspring, austerity, or restraint, as I am by service to the teacher.