Overwhelmed with joy at their reunion, the hearts and faces of the assembled kin blossomed like lotuses. They embraced each other tightly, tears flowing freely down their cheeks, their bodies shivering with delight, voices choked with emotion. In that embrace, happiness flooded them all. The women too, meeting after long separation, gazed at one another with deep affection and pure smiles. They embraced, pressing their kumkum-smeared breasts together, arms entwined, eyes brimming with tears of love. Then, honoring the elders with bows and being greeted by the younger ones, everyone exchanged words of welcome and inquired after each other's well-being. Soon, their conversations turned naturally to the topic dearest to all: Kṛṣṇa. Pṛthā—Kuntī—beheld her brothers, sisters, their children, her own parents, the wives of her brothers, and Mukunda himself. In the warmth of these conversations, all her sorrow melted away. Yet Kuntī, moved by affection and past pain, addressed her noble brothers: “O best of men, I feel my blessings are unfulfilled, for in times of distress you do not remember me.” She reflected, “When fate turns against someone, not even friends, relatives, sons, brothers, or parents remember their own kin.” Vasudeva, her brother, replied gently, “O mother, do not bear resentment toward these men, who are but toys in the hands of destiny. The world is under the Lord’s control—He compels all actions and causes all events. We were all tormented and scattered by Kaṃsa, but now, O sister, by fate alone we have found our proper places again.” As the honored guests—Vasudeva, Ugrasena, and the Yadus—welcomed the assembled kings, supreme joy and contentment filled their hearts at the sight of Acyuta. Among those present were Bhīṣma, Droṇa, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Gandhārī with her sons, the Pāṇḍavas and their wives, Kuntī, Sañjaya, Vidura, Kṛpa, Kuntībhoja, Virāṭa, Bhīṣmaka, the great Nagnajit, Purujit, Drupada, Śalya, Dhṛṣṭaketu, the king of Kāśi, Damaghoṣa, Viśālākṣa, the king of Mithilā, the Madra and Kekaya kings, Yudhāmanyu, Suśarmā, the sons of Bāhlika, and many others devoted to Yudhiṣṭhira. All these kings were astonished as they beheld the glorious form of Śauri—Kṛṣṇa, the abode of Śrī—together with his wives. Honored by Rāma and Kṛṣṇa, they joyfully praised the Vṛṣṇis, the followers of Kṛṣṇa, exclaiming, “O king of the Bhojas, you are truly blessed among men, for you behold Kṛṣṇa again and again—he who is difficult even for yogis to see. His fame is praised by the Vedas, his pure glory sanctifies, and the water that has washed his feet, his words, and teachings purify. Even this earth, though deprived of fortune by time, is blessed by the touch of his lotus feet. By seeing him, touching him, following in his footsteps, conversing, sharing beds, seats, meals, kinship, and family ties—even dwelling in houses on the path to hell—Viṣṇu himself, the giver of heaven and liberation, has become your companion.” Meanwhile, Nanda, learning that the Yadus had arrived led by Kṛṣṇa, came surrounded by cowherds, eager for reunion, bearing gifts suitable for the occasion. The Vṛṣṇis, seeing Nanda, were overjoyed, as if their very lives had returned to their bodies. After so long apart, they embraced him tightly. Vasudeva, embracing Nanda with affection, was overwhelmed with love and remembered the hardships they had endured because of Kaṃsa, and how he had entrusted his son to Gokula. Kṛṣṇa and Rāma embraced their parents and offered obeisance, but so choked were they with tears of love that no words could come. Seating Yaśodā and Nanda on their own seats, embracing them with both arms, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma brought them solace, and the blessed couple let go of all their sorrows for their sons. Rohiṇī and Devakī then embraced the queen of Vraja, Yaśodā; recalling her steadfast friendship, their throats choked with tears as they spoke, “Who could ever forget your unwavering friendship, O Queen of Vraja? Even after attaining and relinquishing the sovereignty of Indra, there is no recompense for it in this world. Your parents delighted in you, prospered, nourished, and protected you, fulfilling their duty. Just as eyelashes protect the eyes, so too do the virtuous have no fear, for heaven is not their ultimate goal.” The gopīs, having at last seen their beloved Kṛṣṇa, cursed their own eyelashes for obstructing their vision. They embraced him with their eyes, absorbing him into their hearts, and all attained a devotion rarely achieved even by those always united with him. The Blessed Lord, approaching the gopīs in solitude, embraced them, inquired after their well-being, and, smiling, spoke: “Do you remember our friendship? We, intent on fulfilling our purposes, departed for so long, our minds absorbed in destroying the enemy’s faction. Did you perhaps resent us, suspecting us of ingratitude? Surely, the Lord unites and separates all beings. Just as the wind gathers and scatters clouds, grass, cotton, and dust, so too does the Creator unite and disperse all beings. Devotion to me among beings leads to immortality. By good fortune, your affection for me has arisen, dispelling all obstacles. I am the beginning, the end, and the inner and outer essence of all beings, just as space, water, earth, air, and light are for material elements. Thus, all beings exist within beings, through the Self and the Supreme Self. Both are seen in me and in the transcendent, by those who perceive the imperishable.” Thus instructed by Kṛṣṇa in spiritual knowledge, the gopīs, their vital energies dissolved in remembrance of him, transcended their individual selves. They prayed, “May the lotus-footed Lord, whose feet are contemplated in the heart by the yogic masters endowed with profound wisdom, and who is the support for deliverance from the well of worldly existence, always arise in our minds, even as we dwell in our homes.” Thus concludes the eighty-second chapter, “The Meeting of the Vṛṣṇis and Gopas,” in the tenth book, second half, of the glorious Bhāgavata Purāṇa, the scripture of the supreme paramahaṃsa. After blessing the gopīs, the Lord—teacher and refuge of all—then inquired after Yudhiṣṭhira and all his steadfast friends. Those whom the Lord of the worlds thus questioned and honored replied with joyful hearts, their sins destroyed by the sight of his feet. They said, “How could anything inauspicious arise from the nectar of your lotus feet, O great one, which sometimes flows from your mouth? Those who drink it with the cups of their ears, O Lord, find it sufficient to sever the bondage of embodied existence and the forgetfulness caused by the body. Having abandoned the threefold states of self, purified of all actions, we have attained uninterrupted bliss and unimpeded knowledge. Through yoga, established by the scriptures and time, we have bowed to your form, the supreme path of the paramahaṃsa, though fashioned by māyā.