King Uttānapāda, his heart heavy with sorrow, spoke to the sage: “O revered brāhmaṇa, my little son—just five years old and already a great sage—has been cast out into the forest with his mother by a cruel-hearted woman. Though he is so helpless, may the wolves not harm that child as he lies there, weary, hungry, and with his lotus-like face withered. Alas, see my wretchedness! Conquered by a woman, I failed to welcome that innocent boy when he longed, out of affection, to climb into my lap. How base I am!” Nārada, the divine sage, comforted the king: “O protector of the people, do not grieve for your son. He is guarded by the gods themselves. Not knowing his greatness, you lament, but his fame will spread throughout the world. He will soon perform a deed so difficult that even the guardians of the worlds would find it hard, and through him, your renown will become immense.” Maitreya continued the tale: Hearing these words, the king, disregarding all royal opulence, thought only of his son. There, after being consecrated and purified, he spent the night in observance, serving the Supreme Person with focused devotion, just as he had been instructed. Meanwhile, the young prince, in the forest, began a most extraordinary discipline. For a month, at the end of every three nights, he subsisted only on wood-apple and jujube fruits, worshipping Lord Hari as best he could. In the second month, every sixth day, he would prepare food from fallen leaves and grass, offering his worship. In the third month, he survived on water alone, fasting for nine days at a time, and meditated with deep absorption on the Glorious Lord. In the fourth month, every twelfth day, he lived on air, having conquered his breath, and sustained his meditation on the Lord. By the fifth month, the prince, having mastered his breath, stood on one leg, unmoving like a pillar, meditating on the Absolute. Withdrawing his mind from all else and fixing it in his heart—the seat of the elements and senses—he saw nothing but the form of the Lord. As he thus sustained the Supreme, the Lord of primordial matter and the great elements, the very support of all, the three worlds began to tremble. When the royal boy stood on one foot, the earth itself bent beneath the weight of his big toe, as an elephant’s platform tilts under its burden. Meditating on the Self of the universe with unwavering concentration, shutting the doors of his senses, the worlds and their guardians, oppressed and breathless, sought refuge in Hari. The gods prayed: “O Lord, never have we seen such restraint of life-breath among all beings, moving or unmoving, whose abode is You. Please, release us from this distress—we have come to You, our ultimate refuge.” The Blessed Lord replied: “Do not fear. I will cause the boy to desist from his arduous austerity. Return to your realms. It was his union with Me that restrained your breath, O sons of Uttānapāda.” Sūta, the storyteller, then described what followed: Out of concern for his subjects and wishing to know all righteousness, King Yudhiṣṭhira went to the place where Devavrata, known as Bhīṣma, lay. At that time, all his brothers, with horses adorned in gold, followed in chariots, as did the sages Vyāsa, Dhaumya, and others. The Blessed Lord Kṛṣṇa, together with Dhanañjaya (Arjuna), also rode in a chariot; among them, the king shone like Kubera among the Yakṣas. Arriving at the scene, the Pāṇḍavas, along with their followers and the wielder of the discus, bowed to Bhīṣma, who lay on the ground like a god fallen from heaven. There, too, gathered all the great sages among the Brahmanas, the foremost of divine and royal sages, to see the chief of the Bharatas. Parvata, Nārada, Dhaumya, the venerable Badarayana, Brihadasva, Bharadvaja with his disciples, and the son of Renuka were present. Vasishtha, Indrapramada, Trita, Gritsamada, Asita, Kakshivan, Gautama, Atri, Kaushika, Sudarshana, and other pure-hearted sages like Brahmarata, Kashyapa, Angiras, and their disciples arrived as well. Seeing all these assembled, Bhīṣma—the best of the Vasus, who knew righteousness and the proper distinctions of place and time—honored them. He also worshipped Krishna, who, though seated there as Lord of the universe in a human form, was present in the heart of all, having assumed a form through His own maya. Then Bhīṣma addressed the sons of Pāṇḍu, who sat with humility and affection, their eyes blinded by tears of deep attachment. “Alas, how grievous, how unjust it is that you, O sons of Dharma, who are afflicted, devoted to the Brahmanas, to righteousness, and to Acyuta, should suffer or live in distress. With the great warrior Pāṇḍu gone, Kunti, left with young children and as a widow, has endured many hardships for your sake, time and again, like a mother with a child. “I consider all that is unpleasant for you to be caused by time; the world and its rulers are under its sway, just as clouds are driven by the wind. Where the son of Dharma is king, Bhima wields the mace, Arjuna holds the Gandiva bow, and Krishna is your friend—how can there be adversity? O King, no one ever knows His intention; even those gifted with inquiry are bewildered by it, as are the wise. “Therefore, O best of the Bharatas, know this to be the arrangement of destiny; being thus ordained, O one who was once without protector, you, as the lord, must protect the people. This indeed is Bhagavan Himself, the original Nārāyaṇa, who, concealing Himself among the Vrishnis, moves about, bewildering the world by His maya. His most secret power is known only by Bhagavan Shiva, the divine sage Nārada, and Bhagavan Kapila. “He whom you consider your maternal cousin, dear friend, best well-wisher, whom you made your minister, messenger, and charioteer out of affection—He is the soul of all, who sees all equally, who is nondual and free from ego; there is never any fault in the differences He causes in people’s minds. Yet see, O King, His compassion for those with exclusive devotion: as I am giving up my life, Krishna Himself has come before me.” Thus, amidst the gathering of sages and kings, the greatness of devotion, destiny, and the Lord’s mysterious ways were revealed, as Bhīṣma prepared to depart from this world in the presence of the Lord Himself.