Who, indeed, would ever forsake your lotus feet, O Lord, who bestows the Self upon renounced, peaceful sages who possess nothing? You, Kṛṣṇa, have descended among the Yadu dynasty, walking among men in this world, spreading your fame for their welfare and bringing peace by removing the suffering of the three worlds. Obeisance to you, Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa, unfailing in wisdom, Nārāyaṇa, the sage who performed tranquil austerities. O Lord, please dwell in our home for a few days with these brāhmaṇas; sanctify the lineage of Nimi with the dust of your feet. Thus invited by King Janaka, the Lord, creator of the worlds, stayed there, bestowing auspiciousness upon the men and women of Mithilā. Śrutadeva, overwhelmed with joy, welcomed Acyuta to 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 prepared, and together with his wife, joyfully washed their feet, greeting them with heartfelt hospitality. With that water, Śrutadeva, his family, and his household bathed themselves, feeling elated as all their desires had been fulfilled. He worshipped his guests 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. In wonder, he thought, “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, along with his wife, children, and relatives, approached and touched their feet. He spoke: “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 illuminates 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 away 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 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, who is 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. Continuing, 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. 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, while wandering among the worlds, went to the hermitage of Nārāyaṇa to see the eternal sage. He, who in this land of Bhārata, for the welfare and auspiciousness of people, has practiced austerity endowed with dharma, knowledge, and tranquility, from the beginning of the age. There, surrounded by sages dwelling in the village of Kalāpa, Nārada, having bowed, asked him this, O best of the Kurus. To him, the Lord spoke this, as the sages listened: the doctrine of Brahman held by the ancient residents of Janaloka. The Blessed Lord said: Once, in Janaloka, there was a sacrifice to Brahman by the descendants of Svāyambhuva; there, among the mind-born sages, who were celibate. When you had gone to Śvetadvīpa to see its Lord, the doctrine of Brahman was thoroughly discussed there, where the Vedas rest; and there arose the very question that you now ask me. They were equal in learning, austerity, and conduct, and similar in their possessions, enemies, and friends; some expounded the doctrine, while others listened attentively. Śrī Sanandana said: Absorbing this creation of his, he lay down together with his energies; then, at the end, the Vedas awakened him with their marks, as if rousing him.