When the illustrious Lord arrived, the faces of all present blossomed with delight. They bowed respectfully with joined palms, just as the sages—whom they had previously only heard about—did the same. Both the king of Mithilā, Janaka, and the humble Śrutadeva, feeling that the Guru of the world had come for their own blessing, fell at the Lord’s feet. With joined palms, Janaka and Śrutadeva invited Kṛṣṇa, the Dāśārha, along with the assembled brāhmaṇas, to accept their hospitality at the same time. Understanding their heartfelt intentions and wishing to please them both, the Lord entered the homes of each, unnoticed by the other. Janaka, whose mind was vast and noble, welcomed all who had come from afar—even those whose conduct was not exemplary—into his house. He seated them comfortably on the finest seats and listened to them with attention. Overflowing with devotion, his heart filled with joy and tears streaming from his eyes, he bowed at their feet, washed them, and reverently took the water, knowing it purified the world. With his family, Janaka bore the water on his head and worshipped the Lords with fragrant scents, garlands, garments, incense, lamps, offerings, and gifts of cows and bulls. He spoke sweet words to please them, gently touching the feet of Viṣṇu, who sat with his feet drawn up, his own heart radiant with joy. Janaka then addressed the Lord: “You are indeed the Self, the witness and seer of all beings, O Lord. Now, for us who remember your lotus feet, you have come into our sight. To fulfill your own words, you have become visible to us, for you said your devotees—those exclusively devoted—are dearer to you than even Lakṣmī or Brahmā, O Infinite One. Who would abandon your lotus feet, O giver of the Self to renounced sages who possess nothing? You, who descended in the Yadu dynasty among men wandering this world, spread your fame for their peace, removing the suffering of the three worlds. Obeisance to you, Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa, of unfailing wisdom, Nārāyaṇa, the sage who performed tranquil austerities. O Lord, please stay in our home for a few days with these brāhmaṇas; sanctify the lineage of Nimi with the dust of your feet.” Accepting the king’s invitation, the Lord, creator of the worlds, stayed there, bringing auspiciousness to the men and women of Mithilā. Meanwhile, Śrutadeva, overwhelmed with joy, welcomed Acyuta into his house just as Janaka had. He bowed to the sages and danced, shaking his garment in delight. He seated them on mats of grass and ox hides he had brought, and, together with his wife, joyfully washed their feet and offered hospitality. With that sacred water, Śrutadeva, his family, and his household bathed themselves, their hearts elated as all their desires were fulfilled. He worshipped them with offerings of fruits, fragrant roots, pure water, clay, cow products, tulasi leaves, sacred grass, and lotuses, performing the proper rites that increase goodness and dispel darkness. Śrutadeva wondered, “How did I, fallen into the blind well of household life, come to have this meeting—with Kṛṣṇa himself, whose feet are the abode of all holy places, and with these brāhmaṇas who are his very home?” When his guests were seated and honored, Śrutadeva, together with his wife, children, and relatives, approached and touched their feet. He said: “Today, the Supreme Person, who after creating this world with his energies enters it by his own being, has not come to our sight for the first time. Just as a man, lying down, creates a dream world by his own mind and then enters and illumines it, so does he. To those who listen, speak, worship, bow to you, and converse sincerely, you reveal yourself within their pure hearts. Though dwelling in the heart, you remain far from those whose minds are distracted by action, and, though inaccessible by your own power, you are not grasped by those attached to the qualities of matter. Obeisance to you, the Supreme Self, knower of the inner reality, who is beyond the self, who divides the self from death, who assumes forms with and without cause, and whose vision is veiled by your own maya. Therefore, O Lord, instruct us, your servants—what should we do? For the greatest suffering of people is that you are beyond the reach of their senses.” Hearing these words, the Lord, remover of the distress of those who bow to him, took Śrutadeva’s hand in his own, smiled, and spoke: “O brāhmaṇa, know that these sages have come here for your blessing; they wander the worlds with me, purifying them with the dust of their feet. The gods, sacred places, and holy waters purify gradually through sight, touch, and worship, but even they are purified instantly by the gaze of the best of brāhmaṇas. Among all living beings here, the brāhmaṇa is superior by birth; how much more so when endowed with austerity, knowledge, and contentment, and especially when devoted to me. This four-armed form is not as dear to Me as the brāhmaṇas are; O brāhmaṇa, you are the embodiment of all the Vedas, and indeed, I am the embodiment of all the gods. Those of poor understanding, who do not know this, who are envious and disrespectful, see Me, the guru, the brāhmaṇa, and their own self as mere idols during worship. Whatever is moving or unmoving in this universe, and all the causes of these, the brāhmaṇa, by My vision, regards as My forms in his mind. Therefore, O brāhmaṇa, worship these brāhmaṇa sages with faith in Me; if you worship in this way, I am truly worshipped—not otherwise, even with great opulence.” Thus instructed by the Lord, the king of Mithilā worshipped the foremost brāhmaṇas along with Kṛṣṇa, regarding them as one with himself, and attained the highest destination. In this way, the Lord, devoted to His devotees and to devotion itself, after staying there and instructing the right path, returned again to Dvārakā. Thus ends the eighty-sixth chapter, entitled ‘The Blessing of Śrutadeva,’ in the second half of the Tenth Canto of the Śrīmad Bhāgavata Mahāpurāṇa, the scripture for the paramahaṃsas. Then, in the next chapter, the Hymn of the Vedas, Parīkṣit asked: “O brāhmaṇa, in regard to the indefinable, transcendental Brahman, how do the Vedas, which are based on qualities, function with respect to That which is beyond both existence and non-existence?” Śuka replied: “The Lord created the intellect, senses, mind, and vital airs of beings—for the sake of sense objects, for worldly purposes, for the self, and for the sake of non-identification.