At the invitation of King Janaka, Lord Krishna—the creator of all worlds—remained in Mithila, bestowing auspiciousness upon its people. The city was filled with joy, for both men and women felt blessed by the Lord’s presence. Śrutadeva, a humble devotee, was overwhelmed with happiness when Krishna entered his home, just as he had visited Janaka. With reverence, Śrutadeva bowed to the sages accompanying the Lord and, in his exuberance, danced, his garment shaking with his movements. He brought mats of grass and ox hides, seating the Lord and the sages comfortably, and together with his wife, joyfully washed their feet, offering them heartfelt hospitality. The water from this ritual was precious to Śrutadeva. He, his family, and his entire household bathed themselves with it, feeling elated—as if every wish of their hearts had been fulfilled. With devotion, Śrutadeva worshipped his guests, presenting fruits, fragrant roots, pure water, sacred clay, cow products, tulasi leaves, holy grass, and lotuses. He performed all the proper rites, those that increase virtue and dispel darkness. In awe, Śrutadeva wondered to himself: “How is it that I, lost in the blind well of household life, have been granted this meeting—with Krishna himself, whose feet are the source of all holy places, and with these brahmins who are his very home?” Once his guests were seated and honored, Śrutadeva, along with his wife, children, and relatives, approached and touched their feet in reverence. He spoke: “Today, the Supreme Person, who creates this world with his energies and 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 in his mind and then enters and illuminates it, so does He. To those who listen to you, speak to you, worship you, bow to you, and converse sincerely, you reveal yourself within their pure hearts. Though you dwell 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 material qualities. Obeisance to you, Supreme Self, knower of 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? The greatest suffering of people is that you are beyond the reach of their senses.” Hearing these words, Lord Krishna, remover of the distress of those who bow to him, took Śrutadeva’s hand in his own, smiled, and spoke: “O brahmin, 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 brahmins. Among all living beings, the brahmin 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 brahmins are. O brahmin, you are the embodiment of all the Vedas, and indeed, I am the embodiment of all the gods. Those who lack understanding, who are envious and disrespectful, see me, the guru, the brahmin, and their own self as mere idols during worship. Whatever is moving or unmoving in this universe, and all the causes of these, the brahmin, by my vision, regards as my forms in his mind. Therefore, O brahmin, worship these brahmin 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 Mithila worshipped the foremost brahmins along with Krishna, regarding them as one with himself, and thereby attained the highest destination. In this way, the Lord—ever devoted to his devotees and to devotion itself—after staying there and teaching the righteous path, returned again to Dvārakā. So 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. The story continues as Parīkṣit, the king, asks the sage 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. Now I shall recount to you the verse endowed with Nārāyaṇa, and the dialogue between Nārada and the sage Nārāyaṇa.” Once, Nārada, beloved of the Lord, wandered among the worlds and came to the hermitage of Nārāyaṇa to see the eternal sage. In this land of Bhārata, Nārāyaṇa had, from the beginning of the age, practiced austerity for the welfare and auspiciousness of people, endowed with dharma, knowledge, and tranquility. There, surrounded by sages dwelling in the village of Kalāpa, Nārada bowed and asked him his question, as the best of the Kurus listened. The Lord spoke, and 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; 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 the very question you now ask me arose there. The sages 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 spoke: “Absorbing this creation of his, the Lord lay down together with his energies; then, at the end, the Vedas awakened him with their marks, as if rousing him. Just as bards approach a sleeping king at dawn and awaken him with praises of his valor, so too did the attendants awaken him with noble hymns.” The Vedas spoke: “Victory, victory! O Unborn, O Unconquered, cast off the faults acquired by the qualities! You are, by your own nature, the one in whom all powers are perfectly contained. You, who are the awakening of all energies in the unmanifest and manifest worlds, are sometimes followed by the Vedas, yet they cannot reach you when you move by your own inscrutable self. This vast universe, perceived as existing, is understood by the wise as ultimately insubstantial, just as the rise and setting of transformations are in clay, not in the transformations themselves. Therefore, sages fix their minds, words, and actions on you—how then could the footprints of men on earth be otherwise than unreal? Thus, O Lord of the three worlds, the wise, having plunged into the ocean of nectar that is your stories which destroy all impurities, abandon their austerities. What then of those who, purified of all motives of time and desire, dwell in your own realm and worship your supreme abode, experiencing unbroken bliss?” Thus, the teachings of the Lord, the devotion of his followers, and the wisdom of the Vedas shine forth, illuminating the path for all seekers.