As the gathering of kings devoted to Yudhiṣṭhira assembled, they were struck with awe as they beheld the radiant form of Śauri—Kṛṣṇa himself, the abode of Śrī—surrounded by his wives. Their hearts were filled with wonder at such splendor. After receiving due honor from both Rāma and Kṛṣṇa, the kings joyfully praised the Vṛṣṇis, Kṛṣṇa’s clan and followers. They exclaimed, “O king of the Bhojas, truly you are blessed among men! Again and again you behold Kṛṣṇa, who is elusive even for yogis to see. The Vedas glorify his fame, his pure glory sanctifies, and the water from washing his feet, his words, and teachings—all bring purification. Even though the earth has lost her fortune through the passage of time, she is showered with blessings by the touch of his lotus feet.” They continued, marveling at the fortune of the Vṛṣṇis: “By seeing him, touching him, following his footsteps, conversing, sharing beds, seats, meals, kinship, and family ties—even while dwelling in houses on the path to hell—Vishnu himself, the giver of heaven and liberation, has become your companion.” Meanwhile, Nanda, hearing that the Yadus led by Kṛṣṇa had arrived, came eager to see them, surrounded by cowherds and bearing gifts fit for the occasion. When the Vṛṣṇis saw Nanda, their joy overflowed as if their very lives had returned to their bodies. After so long apart, they embraced him tightly, longing for reunion. Vasudeva embraced Nanda with deep affection, overwhelmed by memories of hardship under Kaṃsa and the time when he entrusted his son to Gokula. Kṛṣṇa and Rāma, too, embraced their parents and offered obeisance, but tears of love choked their voices, leaving them unable to speak. Yaśodā and her husband, seated on their own seats and embraced warmly, felt their sorrows melt away in the presence of their sons. Rohiṇī and Devakī then embraced the queen of Vraja, Yaśodā. Remembering her steadfast friendship, their throats choked with emotion as they spoke: “Who could ever forget your unwavering friendship, O Queen of Vraja? Even after attaining and relinquishing Indra’s sovereignty, there is no recompense for such devotion in this world. Your parents delighted, prospered, nourished, and protected you, fulfilling their duty. Just as eyelashes protect the eyes, so too the virtuous have no fear, for heaven is not their ultimate goal.” The gopīs, at last seeing their beloved Kṛṣṇa, cursed their own eyelashes for obstructing their vision even for a moment. They embraced him with their eyes, absorbing him into their hearts, and all attained a state of devotion rarely achieved even by those always united with him. Kṛṣṇa approached them in solitude, embraced them, inquired about their well-being, and smiling, spoke: “Do you remember our friendship, and how, intent on fulfilling our purposes, we 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 does the Creator unite and disperse all beings. Devotion to me among beings leads to immortality, and by good fortune your affection for me has arisen, dispelling all obstacles. I am the beginning, end, and the inner and outer essence of all beings, just as space, water, earth, air, and light are for material elements. Thus, these 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 through remembrance of him, transcended their individual selves. They prayed: “May the lotus-footed Lord, whose feet are contemplated in the heart by 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.” So concludes the eighty-second chapter, “The Meeting of the Vṛṣṇis and Gopas,” in the tenth book, second half, of the glorious Bhāgavata Purāṇa. Having thus blessed the gopīs, the Lord—teacher and refuge—then inquired after Yudhiṣṭhira and all his steadfast friends. Those who were questioned by the Lord of the worlds, 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.” The sage continued: Thus, the wives of the Andhaka and Kaurava clans, having gathered, praised the crown-jewel of those with noble fame among people. Meeting together, they sang Govinda’s stories to each other, celebrated throughout the three worlds. Listen, I shall describe them to you. Śrī Draupadī addressed the wives of Kṛṣṇa: “O Vaidarbhī, O Bhadrā, O Jāmbavatī, O Kauśalā, O Satyabhāmā, O Kālindī, O Śaibyā, O Rohiṇī, O Lakṣmaṇā—O wives of Kṛṣṇa, please tell us: how did the Lord Himself marry you, imitating worldly ways by His own divine power?” Śrī Rukmiṇī spoke: “When warriors with drawn bows tried to offer me to the king of Cedi, the dust of whose feet crowned the heads of the king’s soldiers, He carried me away like a lion seizing his share from a herd of goats. May the feet of that Lord, the abode of Śrī, be worshipped by me.” Śrī Satyabhāmā said: “To wipe away the curse smeared upon me by my co-wife, He defeated the king of the earth and brought the jewel, frightened my father and others, and even though I was given to another, He took me for Himself.” Śrī Jāmbavatī spoke: “Recognizing Him as the maker of bodies and my destined Lord, the husband of Sītā fought with my father for twenty-one days. Knowing Him to be tested, my father offered me to Him, and grasping His feet with the jewel, I became His servant.” Śrī Kālindī said: “Knowing I was performing austerities with the desire to touch His feet, He approached me as a friend, took my hand, and I became the sweeper of His house.” Śrī Mitravindā recounted: “He came to my svayaṃvara, defeated the kings, and carried me away like an elephant seizing his own mate from a herd. He drove away my brothers and brought me to His own city, the abode of fortune. May I have the privilege of serving His feet.” Śrī Satyā said: “My father, to test the strength and valor of the kings, had seven fierce, sharp-horned bulls. He, the destroyer of the pride of heroes, subdued them with ease and bound them as a child binds young calves. He thus won me, given as the price of valor, along with my maidservants and army, by defeating the kings on the road—may I become His servant.” Śrī Bhadrā said: “My father, inviting my maternal uncle, gave me to Kṛṣṇa, the dark one, whose mind was set on Him, along with an army and companions. May I have the touch of His feet in every birth, for by that, one who is wandering in the cycle of karma attains the highest good for the soul.” Thus, the wives of Kṛṣṇa shared their stories, each revealing the Lord’s divine ways and their own unwavering devotion, glorifying him whose fame shines throughout the worlds.