As the assembly sat together, not yet fully satisfied, King Bahulāśva approached them with gentle words, his heart overflowing with joy. He reverently touched the feet of Lord Viṣṇu, who sat with his legs drawn up, and addressed the Lord and the sages. “O Lord,” Bahulāśva began, “you are the Self, the witness, the seer of all beings. For us, who continually remember your lotus feet, you have now appeared before our eyes. You have fulfilled your promise—for you once said that your devotees, those who are devoted to you alone, are dearer to you than even Lakṣmī or Brahmā, O Infinite One. Who could ever abandon your lotus feet, O giver of the Self to renounced, peaceful sages who possess nothing? You have descended in the Yadu dynasty, among men wandering this world, spreading your fame for their peace and removing the suffering of all three worlds. Obeisance to you, O Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa, whose wisdom never fails, O Nārāyaṇa, the sage who performed tranquil austerities. Please, O Lord, stay in our home for a few days with these brahmins; sanctify the lineage of Nimi with the dust of your feet.” Thus invited by the king, the Lord, creator of the worlds, remained in Mithilā, bringing auspiciousness to its men and women. Meanwhile, Śrutadeva, overwhelmed with joy, welcomed Acyuta into his home just as King Janaka had. He bowed to the sages and danced with delight, his garment shaking. He brought mats of grass and ox hides for seating, and together with his wife, joyfully washed their feet and offered them hospitality. With the water from their feet, Śrutadeva, his family, and his household bathed themselves, rejoicing as all their desires had been fulfilled. He worshipped the Lord and the sages with offerings of fruits, fragrant roots, pure water, clay, cow products, tulasi leaves, sacred grass, and lotuses, performing the proper rites to increase goodness and dispel darkness. Śrutadeva marveled, “How did I, lost in the blind well of household life, come to be blessed with this meeting—with Kṛṣṇa himself, whose feet are the abode of all holy places, and with these brahmins who are his true home?” When his guests were seated and honored, Śrutadeva, along with his wife, children, and relatives, approached and touched their feet. He said, “Today, the Supreme Person, who creates this world with his energies and enters it by his own being, has not appeared to us 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 māyā. 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 brāhmins. Among all living beings here, the brāhmin 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 brāhmins are; O brāhmin, 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 brāhmin, and their own self as mere idols during worship. Whatever is moving or unmoving in this universe, and all the causes of these, the brāhmin, by My vision, regards as My forms in his mind. Therefore, O brāhmin, worship these brāhmin 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 brāhmins along with Kṛṣṇa, regarding them as one with himself, and attained the highest destination. In this way, the Lord, who is devoted to His devotees and to devotion itself, after staying there and instructing the right path, returned again to Dvārakā. Thus concludes 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. Continuing, Parīkṣit asked Śuka, “O brāhmaṇa, regarding 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. This is indeed the Upaniṣad of Brahman, upheld by the ancients of old; whoever holds it with faith, even if possessing nothing, attains well-being. Here I shall recount to you the verse endowed with Nārāyaṇa, and the dialogue between Nārada and the sage Nārāyaṇa. Once, Nārada, dear to the Lord and wandering among the worlds, went to the hermitage of Nārāyaṇa to see the eternal sage. This sage, in the land of Bhārata, for the welfare and auspiciousness of people, had practiced austerity endowed with dharma, knowledge, and tranquility since the beginning of the age. There, surrounded by sages dwelling in the village of Kalāpa, Nārada bowed and asked him a question, O best of the Kurus. To him, the Lord spoke as the sages listened—the doctrine of Brahman held by the ancient residents of Janaloka.