Śuka said: Hearing the words of the sages and priests, the noble Vasudeva, his heart filled with reverence, bowed his head before them. Pleased, he honored them with due respect and chose them to preside over the great sacrifice. Thus selected in righteousness, the sages began the sacred rituals for Vasudeva in that holy field, performing each ceremony with excellence and precision. As the consecration commenced, the Vrishnis adorned themselves with garlands of lotus flowers, bathed, and dressed in their finest garments. The assembled kings, too, were splendidly arrayed, their presence adding to the grandeur of the occasion. Vasudeva’s queens, radiant with joy, approached the consecration hall. Though they wore no necklaces, they were draped in fine garments, their bodies anointed, and they carried offerings for the ritual. The air resounded with the music of drums, mridangas, kettledrums, conches, trumpets, and many other instruments. Dancers and performers displayed their art, bards and genealogists sang praises, and Gandharva women, accompanied by their husbands, filled the hall with sweet melodies. According to the sacred rites, the priests anointed Vasudeva, who had already bathed and been smeared with fragrant substances. Eighteen of his wives stood by him, and the scene was as resplendent as the king of Soma being anointed by the stars. Clad in silks and adorned with bracelets, necklaces, anklets, and earrings, Vasudeva shone in his sacrificial garment, resplendent among all. His priests, dressed in silks and decked with jewels, stood with the assembly, shining like Indra among the gods at a great sacrifice. Nearby, Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa, surrounded by their families, glowed with their own divine splendor, as did their sons and wives. Vasudeva worshipped the Lord of sacrifice, knowledge, and action with offerings and rituals—both ordinary and special—marked by the agnihotra and other sacred fires. At the proper time, he gave the priests the prescribed gifts, adorning the adorned with cows, land, daughters, and abundant wealth. After completing the rites for the wives and the concluding ablution, the great sages, along with the priests and led by Vasudeva, bathed in the sacred Rama lake. Having bathed, Vasudeva gave his ornaments and garments to the bards and women, and then, himself adorned anew, honored the priests and others with lavish food. He bestowed abundant honors upon his relatives, their wives and sons, and the people from Vidarbha, Kosala, Kuru, Kashi, Kekaya, and Sṛñjaya. He also honored the assembly members, officiating priests, sages, kings, spirits, ancestors, and wandering mendicants. After receiving blessings and taking leave of the Lord’s abode, they departed for their respective homes. Dhṛtarāṣṭra, his younger brother, the sons of Pṛthā, Bhīṣma, Droṇa, Pṛthā herself, the two sons of Yamā, Nārada, the divine Vyāsa, and their friends and relatives embraced their kinsmen, the Yadus. Their hearts softened by affection, some departed for their own lands, enduring the pain of separation. Nanda, the beloved elder of the cowherds, was worshipped with great honor by Kṛṣṇa, Balarāma, Ugrasena, and the others. Fond of his relatives, Nanda remained there, delighting in their company. Having crossed the vast ocean of his desires, Vasudeva, surrounded by friends and with a joyful mind, took Nanda by the hand and spoke to him with warmth: "Brother, the bond of affection among people, which is called love, is hard to abandon—even for heroes and great yogis. This friendship, established by noble souls even toward those who have not returned their kindness, and whose fruit is simply friendship itself, should never be forsaken. "In earlier times, my brothers, we did not act for each other’s welfare. Now, blinded by the pride of prosperity, we fail to see those standing before us. O bestower of honor, may the splendor of sovereignty never come to one who seeks true welfare, for it blinds a man to his own people and relatives." So spoke Vasudeva, his heart softened by affection. Remembering the friendship that had been shown, he wept, his eyes brimming with tears. Nanda, honored by the Yadus for the love he had shown to his dear friends Govinda and Balarāma, lingered there for three months, always thinking, "Today, tomorrow," unable to bring himself to leave. At last, filled with desires, Nanda, together with his kin and the people of Vraja, was honored with the finest ornaments, silks, and many priceless gifts. Receiving abundant offerings from Vasudeva, Ugrasena, Kṛṣṇa, Uddhava, Balarāma, and others, Nanda, accompanied by the Yadus, set out on his journey. The cowherds and their women, their minds absorbed in the lotus feet of Govinda, found it difficult to withdraw their hearts from him, yet they departed for Mathurā. Once their relatives had gone, the Vṛṣṇis, whose deity was Kṛṣṇa, seeing the approach of the rainy season, returned again to Dvārakā. There, they recounted to the people the great festival of the Yadu gods, the pilgrimage, the joyous meetings with friends, and all the wondrous events that had taken place. Thus concludes the eighty-fourth chapter, "The Description of Pilgrimage," in the tenth book, second half, of the glorious Bhāgavata Mahāpurāṇa, the scripture for the supreme renunciates. Later, King Parīkṣit inquired: "O Brahman, I wish to know about the sister of Rāma and Kṛṣṇa—how Arjuna married her, and how she became my grandmother." Śuka replied: While traveling on pilgrimage, Arjuna, the illustrious son of Pāṇḍu, wandered the earth and came to Prabhāsa, where he heard news of his maternal cousin. Some said that Balarāma would give her in marriage to Duryodhana, but others disagreed. Desiring her for himself, Arjuna adopted the garb of a renunciate with three staffs and journeyed to Dvārakā. There, seeking his purpose, he stayed for several months, honored again and again by the townspeople and by Balarāma himself, who did not recognize him in his ascetic guise. One day, Balarāma brought him home and, inviting him as a guest, offered him food with great faith. Arjuna accepted and ate what was given as alms. In that house, Arjuna saw a great maiden—Subhadrā—captivating to heroes. His heart, stirred by affection and the blossoming of love, was set upon her. She too, seeing him, chose him in her heart, as is natural for women. Smiling, with bashful sidelong glances, she fixed her heart and gaze upon him. Arjuna, constantly thinking of her and desiring her, found no peace; his mind was confused by overpowering passion. Then, during a great festival, as Subhadrā rode in a chariot and left the fortress, Arjuna, with the approval of her parents and Kṛṣṇa, the mighty charioteer, carried her away. Thus unfolded the sacred events, woven with love, devotion, and the bonds of kinship, as recounted in the glorious Bhāgavata Mahāpurāṇa.