O King, hear the profound teachings and wondrous events as spoken in the Śrīmad Bhāgavata Mahāpurāṇa. Those who walk as companions of the Lord, the very shelter of all beings, stride fearlessly even upon the head of death itself. The Lord gathers the gods as a herdsman gathers cattle, and those who have made friendship with Him are truly purified—while those who turn away remain untouched by His grace. The Lord is actionless, self-ruling, and the bearer of all creative powers. The gods, ever vigilant, offer Him tribute and serve Him equally, just as the arms serve the universal sovereign. The creators of the worlds, assigned by Him, act with awe in His presence. All living species, moving and unmoving, arise from the union of causes and the unborn; they act under the gaze of the Free One. Yet, when freed from such union, there is no other, no second, for the Supreme—just as space, bearing all things, remains incomparable and empty. If embodied beings were truly unlimited and all-pervading, then there could be no rule of authority over them—but this is not so. And if what is born is made of that which is unborn, then, without releasing that, the controller would remain, even as one accepts the equality of all. But to reject this view is a mistake in understanding. There can be no real origin for both Prakriti and Purusha, since both are uncreated; what arises from their union is unstable, like bubbles on water. In the Supreme Lord, all these diverse names and qualities dissolve, just as rivers, with all their flavors, merge into the ocean. Among humans, those who, recognizing the intense delusion caused by the Lord’s Maya, fix their minds on Him—the source of all—develop ever-deepening devotion. How can fear of worldly existence persist for those who follow Him, when even a mere frown from Him repeatedly creates fear in those who seek shelter elsewhere, as if they were blades of grass? Those who strive to control the restless mind—likened to an untamed horse—by force of the senses and breath, but neglect the feet of the Guru, are afflicted by countless miseries, like merchants on the ocean who abandon their helmsman and are lost at sea. When the Lord exists, what value is there for people in relying on relatives, children, self, spouse, wealth, home, or chariots? Those who, ignorant of this, wander in pursuit of pleasure through union, find no true happiness, for their own share is denied and their own portion is lost. On earth, the sages purified by visiting holy places and abodes, whose hearts are washed by the water from the Lord’s lotus feet, who fix their minds even once on Him—the eternal bliss within—never again seek the abodes of those who rob men of their true essence. If one says, “This arises from the existent,” such reasoning is flawed, for it is inconsistent and sometimes false, not truly combining both. For practical dealings, distinctions are made, but these are passed down blindly, and speech, with its elaborate forms, confuses those who are dull-witted from ritual recitation. What did not exist before, and will not exist after dissolution, and is limited in between, appears in the Lord as a mere illusion of one taste. Therefore, it is compared to distinctions of wealth or caste, but the wise understand that the play of the mind is false and its nectar is illusory. When the soul, by association with the unborn, takes on qualities through contact with the uncreated, it attains similarity to that; then, freed from death, it is released from its portion. The Lord too abandons that form, as a snake sheds its skin, and in His supreme, immeasurable glory, He is eightfold greater and beyond all measure. If ascetics do not uproot the tangle of desire from the heart, then the Lord, difficult to attain for the unworthy, remains hidden within, like a jewel forgotten at the throat. For those who are not satisfied in soul, there is suffering on both sides, since they have not reached the Lord’s state—free from death and firmly established. One who does not know the Lord, the source of all auspicious and inauspicious things, cannot discern the qualities and faults arising from Him, nor the words of embodied beings. Yet, in every age, the Lord with qualities is sung in unbroken succession, and those who hear of Him are led toward liberation by human beings. Even the rulers of heaven could not reach the Lord’s end, nor could the groups of cosmic eggs, known as Sāvarṇas, that exist between Him. Just as dust motes float in the sky with the wind, so too do the Vedas, along with time, pass away; but in the Lord, they bear fruit, and by rejecting the unreal, they find their end in Him. Thus, after hearing this instruction from Brahma, his sons, the Siddhas, honored Sanandana, knowing the path of the Self. The essence of all the Vedas, Puranas, and Upanishads has been drawn out by the great souls of earlier times, traveling through the sky. And you, O heir of Brahma, bearing this instruction of the Self with faith, live on this earth as you wish, burning away the desires of men. Having received the instruction from the sage with faith and self-control, the muni Vīravrata, full and learned, spoke. Nārada then offered salutations to the Blessed Lord, Kṛṣṇa, of spotless fame, who bears all the powers of creation and destruction of all beings. Bowing to the ancient sage and his noble disciples, Nārada went to the ashram of his father, Dvaipāyana. Honored by the Blessed Lord and having accepted a seat, Dvaipāyana narrated to him what he had heard from the mouth of Nārāyaṇa. O King, thus has been described what you asked—how the mind may dwell upon Brahman, who is beyond definition and without qualities. One should meditate constantly upon Hari, who observes the beginning, middle, and end of this universe, who is the Lord of the unmanifest, the living beings, and the rulers; who, having created this world, enters into it and, through the seers, governs it; whom, upon attaining, the embodied soul abandons, just as a sleeping bird leaves its nest—upon that Hari, whose unique existence is untouched by origin and who is fearless. Thus ends the eighty-seventh chapter, entitled “The Prayers of the Vedas,” in the second half of the Tenth Book of the Śrīmad Bhāgavata Mahāpurāṇa, the scripture for the paramahaṃsas. The king then spoke: Among the gods, demons, and humans, those who worship the inauspicious as auspicious are mostly wealthy rulers, but not devotees of Hari, the Lord of Lakṣmī. We wish to understand this, for we have great doubt: why do those who worship two lords of opposing natures attain opposite results? Śuka replied: Śiva, always united with power, is threefold, enveloped by the guṇas—he is of the nature of sattva, rajas, and tamas; thus, I am threefold. From him arose various transformations, sixteen in number, and, assuming the forms of all manifestations, he attains the state of all. Hari, however, is directly beyond the guṇas, the Supreme Person, transcendent to nature; he is the witness of all, the overseer—by worshipping him, one becomes free from the guṇas. When the aśvamedha sacrifices had ceased, your grandfather, the king, hearing of the Lord’s dharmas, asked this of Acyuta. The Blessed Lord, pleased with his attentive service, spoke to him for the highest good of men—he who descended in the Yadu line. The Blessed Lord said: When I show special favor to someone, I gradually take away his wealth; then, his relatives abandon him, and he, afflicted by suffering, suffers further. When, frustrated in his efforts and disillusioned with the pursuit of wealth, he befriends my devotees, I bestow my grace upon him. That supreme, subtle Brahman, consisting only of consciousness, eternal and infinite—knowing it as the Self, the wise one is freed from saṃsāra. Therefore, people, finding me very difficult to worship, turn to others; then, intoxicated and arrogant from the quick boons they receive—kingdoms and prosperity—they become proud, reckless, and, seeking further boons, disregard me. Śuka continued: The lords of blessing and curse—Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Śiva, and others—of these, Śiva quickly grants boons or curses, Brahmā does not, and Acyuta never does so immediately. Here they recount an ancient tale: Having granted a boon to Vṛkāsura, the Lord of the Mountain (Śiva) fell into distress. There was an asura named Vṛka, son of Śakuni; on the path, he saw Nārada and, being of evil mind, asked him which of the three gods was quickest to be pleased. Nārada told him, “Approach Girisha, for you will succeed; he is easily pleased or angered by even the smallest virtue or fault.” Thus, O King, unfolds the story, revealing the deep workings of the divine and the results of worship, as recounted by the sages.