O King, hear now the sacred story as it unfolded, just as the great sage Śuka described. By the grace of destiny, those who had lived with Kṛṣṇa—seeing Him, touching Him, following in His footsteps, conversing with Him, sharing their beds, seats, and meals, bound by kinship and family ties—even though their homes were on the path to ruin, had Vishnu Himself, the giver of heaven and liberation, as their intimate companion. When Nanda learned that the Yadus, led by Kṛṣṇa, had arrived, he eagerly set out, surrounded by the cowherds, to meet them. Bearing gifts suitable for the occasion, he was filled with longing to see his dear ones after so long. Upon seeing Nanda, the Vṛṣṇis were overwhelmed with joy, as if their very lives had returned to their bodies. After such a long separation, they embraced him tightly, their hearts brimming with happiness. Vasudeva, especially, embraced Nanda with great affection. Overcome with love, he remembered the hardships caused by Kaṃsa and how he had entrusted his son to Nanda in Gokula. Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma then lovingly embraced their parents and offered obeisance. Yet, their voices were choked with tears of love, and they could not utter a word, O best of the Kurus. Seating Nanda and Yaśodā on their own seats, the blessed couple embraced them with both arms, and all the sorrows they had carried for their sons melted away. Rohiṇī and Devakī, too, embraced the queen of Vraja, Yaśodā. Remembering the deep friendship she had shown, their throats choked with emotion 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 way to repay it in this world. We have seen how your parents delighted in you, prospered, nourished, and protected you, fulfilling their duty. Just as eyelashes protect the eyes, so the virtuous have nothing to fear, for heaven is not their ultimate goal.” The gopīs, upon finally seeing their beloved Kṛṣṇa, felt as if their own eyelashes were a curse, for they obstructed their vision of Him. Embracing Him with their eyes, they absorbed Him into their hearts, attaining a rare state of devotion that even those always united with Him seldom achieve. Kṛṣṇa, the Blessed Lord, approached the gopīs as they were alone, embraced them, inquired about their well-being, and with a gentle smile, spoke: “Do you remember our friendship? We left, intent on fulfilling our own purposes, our minds absorbed in destroying the enemy’s faction. Did you perhaps resent us, suspecting us of ingratitude? Surely, it is the Lord who 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 living beings leads to immortality. By good fortune, your affection for Me has arisen, dispelling all obstacles. I am indeed 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 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, the scripture of the supreme paramahaṃsa. After blessing the gopīs, the Lord, teacher and refuge of all, inquired after Yudhiṣṭhira and his steadfast friends. Those who were thus questioned and honored by the Lord of the worlds replied with joyful hearts, their sins washed away 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: The wives of the Andhaka and Kaurava clans, having gathered together, praised Govinda, the crown-jewel of all who are famed among people. Meeting together, they sang His stories, celebrated throughout the three worlds. Listen now as I describe them to you. Śrī Draupadī asked, “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 replied, “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, always 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. He frightened my father and others, and even though I was promised 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 added, “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 ever serve His feet.” Śrī Satyā shared, “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. Thus He 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.” Śrī Lakṣmaṇā told, “Hearing again and again from Nārada the stories of the king’s birth and deeds, my mind was firmly drawn to Mukunda, the lotus-handed one, abandoning even the guardians of the world. Knowing my mind, my father, the affectionate Bṛhatsena, devised a means for my marriage. As in the svayaṃvara of the princess, a fish was set up for the sake of the Pāṇḍava’s desire; here too, a fish was concealed outside but could be seen in the water below. Hearing this, kings from all sides, skilled in the use of all weapons and missiles, came by the thousands with their teachers to my father’s city.” Thus, in the company of the noble and devoted, the glories of Kṛṣṇa and the wondrous tales of His marriages were joyfully recounted, filling all with divine remembrance and bliss.