The sages who have renounced their rods, who are peaceful, equal-minded, without possessions, and virtuous, declare that the Supreme Person is the ultimate goal. His beloved form is pure sattva, and for Him, the brāhmaṇas are the chosen deities. The wise, peaceful, and desireless worship Him without seeking reward. Through His māyā, endowed with the guṇas, He creates the threefold classes—rākṣasas, asuras, and suras—and it is by sattva that one attains His sacred abode. Śuka explained that the Sarasvata brāhmaṇas, in order to dispel the doubts of the people, attained the supreme destination by serving the lotus feet of the Supreme Person. Sūta added that whoever listens again and again to this nectar—fragrant with the lotus feet of the sage's son and concerning the Supreme Person—finds relief from the fatigue of wandering the path of worldly existence. Śuka continued: Once, in Dvārakā, a brāhmaṇa’s wife gave birth, but her newborn son died as soon as he touched the earth. The grieving brāhmaṇa carried his dead child to the king’s gate, and, lamenting in distress, spoke bitterly: "Because of the king’s misdeeds—his hatred of brāhmaṇas, his deceit, greed, and attachment to pleasure—my child has died. When a king delights in violence, acts wickedly, and has uncontrolled senses, his people suffer, becoming poor and afflicted." This calamity repeated: when a second and then a third child died, the brāhmaṇa again placed them at the king’s gate, reciting his lament. Hearing this, Arjuna, in Keśava’s presence, spoke to the brāhmaṇa when his ninth child had passed away: "O brāhmaṇa, what is lacking in your house? Here, brāhmaṇas perform sacrifice, attended by kṣatriya friends. Where brāhmaṇas, surrounded by wealth, wives, and sons, are lamenting, those kṣatriyas are impostors, living in disgrace. O Lord, I will protect your children, who are afflicted and helpless. If I fail to fulfill my promise, I shall enter fire, purified of sin." But the brāhmaṇa replied: "Sankarshana, Vasudeva, Pradyumna—the best among archers—and Aniruddha, whose chariot is unconquerable, could not protect them. How, then, do you intend to accomplish what even the Lords of the world cannot, out of childishness? We do not believe you." Arjuna answered: "O brāhmaṇa, I am not Sankarshana, nor Krishna, nor the son of Krishna; I am Arjuna, whose bow is Gandiva. Do not underestimate my power, which has pleased Tryambaka. Having conquered death in battle, I will bring back your children." Thus reassured by Arjuna, the brāhmaṇa, pleased by Partha’s prowess, returned to his house. When the time of birth approached for the brāhmaṇa’s wife, the brāhmaṇa, distressed, called out to Arjuna: "Protect, protect my child from death!" Arjuna purified himself, bowed to Maheshvara, recalled divine weapons, and took up his Gandiva, strung and ready. He blocked the birthing chamber with arrows, employing various weapons, and created a cage of arrows on all sides. Yet, as the child was born, crying, he vanished at once, body and all, into the sky. In Krishna’s presence, the brāhmaṇa reproached Arjuna: "See my foolishness, that I believed his boastful words. Neither Pradyumna, nor Aniruddha, nor Rama, nor Kesava could protect him; who else, then, could do so? Shame on Arjuna for his false words and self-praise; deluded, he seeks to do what is ordained by fate." Thus cursed by the brāhmaṇa sage, Arjuna, relying on his knowledge, quickly went to Samyamanī, the abode of Lord Yama. Not finding the brāhmaṇa’s son there, he went armed to the cities of Indra, Agni, Nirriti, Soma, Vayu, and Varuna. He searched Rasatala, the heavens, and the abodes of other deities, but failed to find the brāhmaṇa’s son and, unable to fulfill his promise, wished to enter fire. Krishna stopped him. Krishna said: "I will show you the brāhmaṇa’s sons; do not belittle yourself. Those who establish our pure fame will be blessed." Thus, Krishna and Arjuna mounted the divine chariot and entered the western direction. The Lord crossed over the seven continents, the seven oceans, and the seven mountains, and even Lokāloka, entering within. There, the horses—Śaibya, Sugrīva, Meghapuṣpa, and Balāhaka—lost their way in the darkness. Seeing this, Krishna, Lord of the great masters of yoga, sent forth His discus, Sudarśana, shining like a thousand suns. Sudarśana, swift as the mind, entered the vast and terrible darkness, splitting it apart with its intense radiance, just as Rāma’s arrow would pierce an army. Through the path opened by the discus, Arjuna beheld that supreme, boundless light beyond the darkness. Struck in the eyes by its brilliance, he closed both his eyes. Carried by the wind, he entered the water, adorned with great waves, and saw a wondrous, radiant palace, shining with thousands of columns of brilliant gems. Within was the infinite, great serpent, with a thousand heads, its hoods adorned with radiant gems, shining brilliantly, with two fierce eyes, white as a mountain, and a blue-black tongue. Upon the serpent’s comfortable seat, Arjuna saw the all-pervading Lord, of supreme majesty, highest among persons, dark as a dense raincloud, clad in yellow garments, with a serene face and beautiful, wide eyes. He was adorned with a crown and earrings of great jewels; his thousand curling locks encircled by a radiant aura; eight long, graceful arms; bearing the Kaustubha gem; marked with Śrīvatsa; and garlanded with a forest wreath.