At the dawn of his spiritual journey, the young prince undertook a rigorous discipline to worship Lord Hari. For the first month, he would eat only the fruits of wood-apple and jujube every three nights, offering his worship to the Lord as best he could. In the second month, he intensified his austerity: every sixth day, he would gather food from fallen leaves, grass, and similar humble fare, preparing it himself before continuing his worship. As the third month began, the boy grew even more austere. Now, every ninth day, he would sustain himself on water alone, immersing himself in deep meditation and drawing nearer to the Glorious Lord. By the fourth month, on every twelfth day, he subsisted solely on air, having mastered his breath, and maintained unwavering focus on the Lord. When the fifth month arrived, the prince had so thoroughly mastered his breath that he stood motionless on one leg, like a pillar, meditating on the Absolute. He withdrew his mind from all else, fixing it in his heart—the seat of the senses and elements—and meditated solely on the Lord’s form, seeing nothing else. So profound was his concentration and so intense his austerity that, as he sustained his meditation on the Supreme Lord—the very support of all creation—the three worlds themselves began to tremble. The earth, pressed beneath his great toe as he stood on one foot, bent under his weight, just as the ground tilts beneath a mighty elephant. With his senses sealed and his mind unwavering, the prince’s austerity oppressed even the guardians of the worlds, leaving them breathless and in distress. In their anxiety, they sought refuge in Hari. The gods approached the Lord and prayed, “O Lord, we have not witnessed such restraint of the life-breath among any beings, moving or unmoving. All creatures dwell in You. Please relieve us of this distress; we have come to You, our ultimate refuge.” The Blessed Lord replied, “Do not fear. I will cause the boy to cease his severe austerity. Return to your realms. It was through his union with Me that your breath was restrained, O sons of Uttānapāda.” Meanwhile, elsewhere, Sūta continued his narration. Out of concern for his subjects and a desire to understand the full measure of righteousness, King Yudhiṣṭhira journeyed to the place where Devavrata—Bhīṣma—lay. His brothers, their horses adorned in gold, rode behind him in chariots, accompanied by the sages Vyāsa, Dhaumya, and others. The Blessed Lord Krishna, too, rode in a chariot with Arjuna, and amidst this noble company, Yudhiṣṭhira shone like Kubera among the Yakṣas. Upon reaching the battlefield, the Pāṇḍavas, along with their followers and Krishna, the wielder of the discus, beheld Bhīṣma lying on his bed of arrows, like a god fallen from heaven. They bowed low before him. Gathered there were the foremost sages among the Brahmanas, the divine seers, and the royal sages, all come to witness the chief of the Bharatas. Among them were Parvata, Nārada, Dhaumya, the venerable Bādarāyaṇa, Brihadasva, Bharadvāja and his disciples, and the son of Reṇukā. Vasishtha, Indrapramada, Trita, Gritsamada, Asita, Kakṣivan, Gautama, Atri, Kaushika, Sudarshana, and many other pure-hearted sages like Brahmarata, Kaśyapa, and Angiras also arrived with their disciples. Perceiving all these illustrious souls assembled, Bhīṣma, the best of the Vasus, who understood righteousness and the proper distinctions of place and time, honored them all. He also paid homage to Krishna, who, though seated among them as a man, was truly the Lord of the universe, dwelling within all hearts and present in that form by His own divine power. Turning to the sons of Pāṇḍu, who sat before him with humility and affection, their eyes blinded by tears of deep love, Bhīṣma addressed them: “Alas, how grievous and unjust it is that you, O sons of Dharma—so devoted to the Brahmanas, to righteousness, and to Acyuta—should suffer such afflictions. With the great warrior Pāṇḍu gone, your mother Kunti, left a widow with young children, has endured countless hardships for your sake, time and again, like one caring for a helpless child. “I see all your misfortunes as brought about by time itself. The world and its rulers are all subject to its sway, just as clouds are driven by the wind. Where the son of Dharma is king, Bhīma wields the mace, Arjuna holds the Gāṇḍīva bow, and Krishna is your friend—how can there be adversity? O King, no one knows the intention of the Lord; even those who inquire deeply are bewildered by it, as are the wise. “Therefore, O best of the Bharatas, know this to be the arrangement of destiny. Since it is so ordained, O protectorless one, you, as king, must protect your people. “This is Bhagavān Himself, the original Nārāyaṇa, who, concealing Himself among the Vrishnis, moves through the world, bewildering all with His divine power. His most secret potency is known only to Bhagavān Shiva, the divine sage Nārada, and Bhagavān Kapila. The one whom you consider your cousin, dear friend, well-wisher, whom you made your minister, messenger, and charioteer out of affection—He is the soul of all, seeing all equally, nondual and free from ego. For Him, 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 prepare to leave this world, Krishna Himself stands before me. The yogi who, with devotion, fixes his mind upon Him and utters His name with his voice, is freed from desires and actions at the time of death. May that Lord of gods, Bhagavān, remain before me as I relinquish this body—He who stands with a smiling face, reddish eyes, a radiant lotus countenance, and four arms, the very path of my meditation.” Sūta then said: Hearing these words, Yudhiṣṭhira questioned Bhīṣma, lying upon his bed of arrows, about the various duties of life, as the assembled sages listened attentively. He inquired about the duties prescribed for people according to their nature, class, and stage of life, and about the characteristics of both detachment and attachment as taught in the scriptures. He asked, both in summary and in detail, about the duties of charity, kingship, liberation, women, and devotion to God, as well as their divisions and yogic aspects. The wise Bhīṣma, knowing the truth, described to him the aims of dharma, wealth, desire, and liberation, along with their means, drawing upon stories and ancient histories. As he expounded on dharma, that auspicious moment arrived—the very time longed for by yogis who wish to depart this world at will, as the sun’s course turned northward.