The Blessed Lord Krishna, beholding the assembled sages, spoke with reverence, saying, “Ah, we who are born into this world have attained the highest fruit, which is difficult even for the gods to obtain—the sight of the masters of yoga.” He marveled at the fortune of even those men of little austerity, who, in their worship of the gods—the very eyes of the world—are granted the chance to see, touch, question, and bow at the feet of such exalted beings. Krishna continued, extolling the sages: “Neither sacred waters, nor gods made of clay and stone, purify in the same way; it is the holy ones who purify, simply by their sight, even in a brief moment. Neither fire, nor sun, nor moon and stars, nor earth, water, sky, wind, speech, or mind—though worshipped as separate—remove sin; the wise destroy it by serving the enlightened, even for a moment.” He warned, “He who identifies the self with the body of three elements, regards wife and kin as his own, worships earth as sacred, and sees holy places only as water, but never seeks out the wise—he is no better than a cow or donkey.” Śuka, the great sage, observed that after hearing Krishna’s profound words, the assembled sages sat silent, their minds perplexed by the depth of his speech. After a long deliberation, the sages smiled at the Lord of the universe and acknowledged that his sovereignty was for gathering people together. They spoke, “By your māyā, O highest knower of truth, even we, the lords among the creators of the world, are bewildered. Your mastery is hidden by your own mysterious power—how wondrous are the Lord’s actions! Though without desire, you create, maintain, and withdraw the world in many ways, yet are not bound—just as the earth, though appearing in many forms and names, remains unchanged. How marvelous and mysterious are the acts of your greatness!” The sages praised Krishna further: “Yet, at the proper time, for the protection of Your own people, You assume the mode of goodness, and also for the subjugation of the wicked; by Your own play, You uphold the eternal path of the Veda, O Supreme Person, who are the soul of the varṇāśrama order. O Brahman, Your heart is pure, attained through austerity, study, and self-restraint; in it is realized that which is manifest, unmanifest, and beyond both. Therefore, O Brahman, You honor the community of Brahmins, the very source of the scriptures and of Yourself; thus You become the foremost among those devoted to Brahman.” They declared, “Today, our birth, our learning, our austerity, and our vision have borne fruit, for by meeting You, who are the highest goal, we have attained the supreme good. Obeisance to that Lord Krishna, whose intellect is unfailing, whose greatness is concealed by His own yogamāyā, and who is the Supreme Soul. He whom these kings and even the Vṛṣṇis, who delight in Him alone, do not know—He is the Lord of time and the Self, hidden by the curtain of māyā.” The sages likened the ignorance of Krishna’s true nature to a man lying asleep, who, though perceiving the elements and qualities, does not know his own true self, which is distinct from mere names and sense-objects. “So too, by the delusion of māyā, the mind bewildered by attachment to names, objects, and senses, does not know You, due to the disturbance of memory.” They concluded, “Today, we have seen Your feet, which remove the mass of sins, which are the very abode of holy places, established in the heart by those whose yoga is fully matured. O Lord, whose devotees, their inner coverings pierced by overflowing devotion, attain Your path—please grant them Your grace.” Śuka narrated that, after taking leave of Krishna, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and Yudhiṣṭhira, the royal sage, the sages set their minds on returning to their own hermitages. Seeing them depart, the illustrious Vasudeva approached, bowed, honored them, and spoke with humility: “O sages, I bow to you, who are all the gods. Please tell us how, by action, the bondage of action may be destroyed.” Śrī Nārada replied, “O Brāhmaṇas, it is not surprising that Vasudeva, out of eagerness to know, asks us about the highest good for himself, considering Krishna as his own child. Here, among mortals, close association leads to disregard, just as one, leaving the Ganges, seeks other water for purification.” He continued, “He whose realization, by time, creation, dissolution, and so on, is never diminished by himself, by others, or by qualities, from anywhere. That Lord, who is undivided, whose experience is unobstructed by the flows of suffering, karma, and qualities, yet is concealed by His own powers such as life-force—one may mistake Him, as one mistakes the sun covered by clouds, mist, or eclipse.” Then, O King, the sages, having addressed Anakadundubhi (Vasudeva), spoke before all the assembled kings and the two descendants of Acyuta. They explained, “The destruction of karma by action is thus established by the wise: with faith, one should worship Vishnu, the Lord of all sacrifices, through sacrificial rites. This tranquility of the mind, indeed, has been shown by poets with the eye of scripture; the path of yoga is easy and brings joy to the self. This is the auspicious path for the twice-born householder, which a person should worship with pure means and faith, according to his acquired wealth.” The sages advised, “The wise should renounce the pursuit of wealth through sacrifices and charity, the pursuit of wife and children through household life, and the pursuit of self through spiritual worlds, O Lord, in due time; those who have abandoned all pursuits in the village have gone, steadfast, to the forest of austerity. O Lord, the twice-born is born with three debts—to the gods, sages, and ancestors; by sacrifices, study, and sons, he repays them; if he departs without settling them, he falls.” They assured Vasudeva, “You, today, are freed from two debts, O wise one, to the sages and ancestors; having discharged the debt to the gods with sacrifices, become free from debt and without refuge. O Vasudeva, surely you have worshipped Hari, the Lord of the worlds, with supreme devotion, and He has become your son.” Śuka described how Vasudeva, hearing these words, bowed his head, pleased the sages and priests, and chose them for the rituals. Those sages, chosen by him in righteousness, performed sacrifices for him in that field with excellent rituals. When the consecration began, the Vrishnis, wearing lotus garlands, bathed and dressed well, and the kings were splendidly adorned. Vasudeva’s queens, joyful and clad in fine garments without necklaces, approached the consecration hall, anointed and bearing offerings. Drums, mridangas, kettledrums, conches, trumpets, and other instruments resounded; dancers and performers danced; bards and genealogists praised; Gandharva women with sweet voices sang music together with their husbands. The priests, according to the ritual, anointed Vasudeva—already bathed and smeared—with his eighteen wives, as the king of Soma is anointed by stars. Adorned by them with silk, bracelets, necklaces, anklets, and earrings, Vasudeva shone, consecrated and clad in a sacrificial garment.