There was once a gathering of sages and kings, where profound truths were spoken. Krishna, the Lord whose wisdom is deep beyond measure, addressed those assembled, saying: “One who mistakes the self for the physical body of flesh, blood, and bone; who clings to wife and relatives as if they are the very self; who worships mere earth as sacred and sees holy places as nothing but water—yet never seeks the company of the wise—such a person is no better than a cow or a donkey.” Hearing these words, so subtle and far-reaching, the sages sat in silence, their minds unsettled, awed by the depth of Krishna’s speech. After a long pause, they smiled at the Lord of the universe and acknowledged that his position as sovereign was meant to bring people together. The sages spoke: “O highest knower of truth, by Your own mysterious power of māyā, even we—lords among the world’s creators—are bewildered. Your mastery is veiled by Your wondrous power; how marvelous are the acts of the Lord! Though You are free from desire, You create, sustain, and dissolve the world in many ways, yet remain untouched—just as the earth, though taking on many forms and names, is itself unchanged. How marvelous and mysterious are Your actions! “At the right time, for the protection of Your devotees and the subduing of the wicked, You take on the mode of goodness. By Your divine play, You uphold the eternal path of the Veda, O Supreme Person, soul of the varṇāśrama order. Your heart, O Brahman, is pure, attained through austerity, study, and self-restraint; within it is realized all that is manifest, unmanifest, and even that which is beyond both. “Therefore, O Brahman, You honor the community of Brahmins, the very source of the scriptures and of Yourself, and thus become the foremost among those devoted to Brahman. Today, our birth, our learning, our austerities, and our vision have all borne fruit, for in meeting You, the highest goal, we have attained the supreme good. “Obeisance to You, Lord Krishna, whose intellect is unfailing, whose greatness is concealed by Your own yogamāyā, and who are the Supreme Soul. Even these kings and the Vṛṣṇis, who delight in You alone, do not truly know You—You are the Lord of time and the Self, hidden by the curtain of māyā. “Just as a man, lying asleep, though perceiving the elements and their qualities, does not know his 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—fails to know You, due to the disturbance of memory. “Today, we have seen Your feet, which remove the mass of sins, which are the very abode of holy places, and which are 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.” When the sages had thus spoken, they took leave of Krishna, Dhritarashtra, and Yudhishthira, the royal sage, and prepared to return to their own hermitages. As they were departing, the illustrious Vasudeva approached them, bowed respectfully, honored them, and spoke with well-controlled words: “O sages, I bow to you, who are all the gods. Please tell us, by what actions may the bondage of action be destroyed?” Narada replied: “O Brahmanas, it is not surprising that Vasudeva, eager for knowledge, asks us about the highest good for himself, seeing Krishna as his own child. For among mortals, close association often leads to disregard—just as one, leaving the Ganges, seeks other water for purification. “The realization of the Supreme is never diminished by time, creation, dissolution, or by oneself, others, or qualities. The Lord is undivided, unaffected by suffering, karma, or qualities, yet is concealed by His own powers, such as the life-force. Just as the sun may be mistaken for being absent when hidden by clouds, mist, or an eclipse, so too is He overlooked.” Then, O King, the sages addressed Vasudeva before all the assembled kings and the two descendants of Acyuta: “The wise have established that karma is destroyed by action—one should worship Viṣṇu, the Lord of all sacrifices, with faith through sacrificial rites. The tranquility of mind has been shown by poets, guided by scripture; the path of yoga is easy and brings joy to the self. “This is the auspicious path for the twice-born householder—to worship with pure means and faith, according to one’s wealth. The wise should, in due time, 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; 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, the sages, and the ancestors. By sacrifices, study, and sons, he repays them. If he departs without settling these, he falls. Today, O wise one, you are freed from two debts—to the sages and ancestors; having discharged the debt to the gods with sacrifices, become free from debt and without refuge. Surely you have worshipped Hari, the Lord of the worlds, with supreme devotion, and He has become your son.” Hearing these words, Vasudeva, of great mind, bowed his head, pleased the sages and priests, and chose them for the sacrifice. Those sages, chosen by him in righteousness, performed the sacrifices for him in that field with excellent rituals. When the consecration began, the Vrishnis, adorned with lotus garlands and dressed in fine garments, bathed and prepared themselves, and the kings, too, were splendidly adorned. The queens, joyful and robed in fine garments, 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, and Gandharva women, together with their husbands, sang sweet music. The priests, according to ritual, anointed Vasudeva—already bathed and smeared—together with his eighteen wives, as the king of Soma is anointed by the stars. Adorned with silk, bracelets, necklaces, anklets, and earrings, he shone, consecrated and clad in a sacrificial garment. His priests, dressed in silk and adorned with jewels, together with the assembly, shone like Indra at the sacrifice. Then Rama and Krishna, accompanied by their families, shone with their sons and wives, lords of life radiant in their own splendor. Vasudeva worshipped, according to the ritual, with sacrifices marked by agnihotra and others, both ordinary and special, the Lord of sacrifice, knowledge, and action. At the proper time, he gave the priests their due gifts, honoring them with cows, land, daughters, and great wealth, making the adorned ones even more splendid.