Wiping away his tears with trembling hands and steadying himself, Sanjaya turned to Ajatashatru, his heart absorbed in remembrance of the Lord’s feet. With a voice heavy with emotion, he confessed, “O delight of your lineage, I do not know what your parents or Gandhari have decided, O mighty-armed one. I have been left in the dark by these great souls.” At that moment, the revered sage Narada arrived, accompanied by Tumburu. Yudhishthira and his brothers immediately rose, honoring and worshipping the sage with deep reverence. Bowing to Narada, Yudhishthira spoke with concern, “O revered one, I do not know where my parents have gone, nor where my mother, who grieves for her lost sons and has devoted herself to austerity, has departed.” With the kindness of a helmsman guiding a ship across a vast sea, the illustrious Narada, foremost among sages, began to speak. He explained, “Just as cows are bound to a stake by their own ropes, so too are beings bound by names and words, performing their offerings for the Lord. The unions and separations of people are like the gathering and scattering of playthings, determined by the will of the Player, the Lord Himself. What you see as permanent or impermanent in this world is not truly so; grief arises only from attachment born of delusion. “Therefore, dear one, give up this weakness of heart born of ignorance. How could those helpless and pitiable ones survive without me? This body, made of the five elements, is subject to time, action, and the modes of nature. How can one protect another, just as one seized by a serpent cannot save another? “In this world, the handless are food for the handed, the footless for the four-footed; the weak are the sustenance of the strong—life lives upon life. O King, the Supreme Lord, the one Self of all selves, perceives Himself by Himself and dwells both within and without; see Him, who appears through the power of His own illusion. “This very Lord, the creator and sustainer of beings, has now descended as Time itself, bringing about the destruction of the enemies of the gods. His divine task is accomplished; now He awaits what remains to be done. Until then, you all should observe, as long as the Lord remains here. “Know that Dhritarashtra, with his brother and Gandhari, has gone south of the Himalayas to the hermitage of the sages, accompanied by his wife. There flows the celestial Ganga, who divided herself into seven streams for the pleasure of the seven sages, and is thus called the river of seven streams. There, after bathing at the proper times and offering fire oblations as prescribed, Dhritarashtra lives on water alone, his mind tranquil and free from all desires. “He has mastered posture and breath, withdrawn his six senses, and, through meditation on Hari, has destroyed the impurities of passion and ignorance, becoming pure in the mode of goodness. Merging his mind into knowledge, dissolving the knower of the field into the Self, and placing the Self in Brahman—just as space within a pot merges into the sky—he abides in that state. With the residue of illusion and its qualities destroyed, senses and mind restrained, having given up all food, he remains unmoving like a pillar. Let there be no obstacle for him, who has renounced all actions. “O King, from today, on the fifth day hence, he will abandon his body, and it will be reduced to ashes. As her husband’s body burns in the fire, the faithful Gandhari, together with her brother-in-law, will stand outside, gazing upon her husband as he enters the flames. Hearing this astonishing news, O descendant of the Kurus, Vidura, filled with both joy and sorrow, will depart from there to visit holy places.” Having spoken thus, Narada, together with Tumburu, ascended to heaven. Yudhishthira, holding the sage’s words in his heart, let go of his grief. Meanwhile, Sanjaya wondered at the wondrous events unfolding, marveling at the unprecedented love blossoming among the people of Vraja and their children for Vasudeva, the Soul of all. In that sacred land where the unconquered Lord resided, even natural enemies such as men and beasts lived together like friends, mingling with swift deer and other creatures. There, the Supreme, non-dual, infinite Lord—His knowledge unfathomable—enacted His childhood pastimes as a cowherd boy: searching for calves and friends, holding a morsel of food in His hand, just as before. It was in this enchanting scene that Brahma, the creator, beheld Him. Upon seeing the Lord, Brahma quickly descended from his celestial vehicle, bowed down to the earth as if casting down a golden staff, and touched the Lord’s two feet with the crowns of his four heads, tears of joy streaming as he performed an abhisheka. Rising again and again, Brahma fell repeatedly at Krishna’s feet, sitting at last, his mind awash with memories of the Lord’s greatness. Slowly rising, he wiped his eyes; with bowed neck, he gazed upon Mukunda, palms joined in reverence, his whole being trembling as he spoke in a choked, tearful voice. Sūta continued: After these events, Arjuna departed for Dvārakā, longing to see his relatives and learn of the deeds of the illustrious Krishna. Yet, as months passed and Arjuna did not return, ominous signs of dreadful appearance began to manifest. The fierce course of Time became evident; natural order was reversed, and people’s conduct worsened, driven by anger, greed, and falsehood. Dealings became crooked, friendship tainted with deceit, and quarrels arose among fathers, mothers, friends, brothers, and married couples. As these dire omens appeared and Time advanced among people, Yudhishthira, seeing the rise of greed and unrighteousness, spoke to his younger brother: “Arjuna was sent to Dvārakā, longing to see our relatives and to learn of the deeds of the illustrious Krishna. Now seven months have passed, and your younger brother Bhīmasena has not returned; for what reason, I do not know at all. Has the time foretold by the divine sage now arrived, when the Lord intends to relinquish His earthly play? For by His grace we obtained everything—wealth, kingdom, wives, life, family, subjects, victory over enemies, and even the worlds. See these portents, O tiger among men—celestial, terrestrial, and bodily—terrible and ominous, appearing nearby, filling us with fear and confusion.” Thus, the hearts of the Pandavas were filled with foreboding as the signs of the age’s end gathered around them.