O horse-headed one, whose mighty neck and form embody the Great Person, slayer of the demons Madhu and Kaiṭabha—homage to you, you with the visage of a horse. Salutations to the great tortoise, whose body is vast as a turtle, who raised up the earth itself and assumed the form of the mountain-bearer. Reverence to the great boar, who lifted the earth from the depths; and to the primeval boar, the all-formed creator, we bow. We offer obeisance to the infinite, the subtle, the chief among beings, the most excellent—whose form is atomic, barely perceptible, and who is attained only by yogis. To you, the cause of all causes, whose abode is found in the conduct of the lords of yoga, who is most difficult to comprehend, who reclines upon the great serpent in the ocean of milk, adorned with golden, jewel-studded earrings—to you we bow. Thus, when these praises were offered, Mādhava, pleased, spoke: “Quickly speak, best of sages, whatever you desire from me.” The sage replied, “In this world, O Lord of the Universe, which is hard to cross, hair-raising, impermanent, full of suffering, and as fragile as a plantain leaf—without support, without foundation, as fickle as a water bubble, beset with calamities, hard to cross and exceedingly terrifying—I have wandered for long, deluded by your māyā. My mind is bound to sense-objects, and I find no end to this wandering. Today, afflicted by the fear of saṃsāra, I have come to you for refuge, O Kṛṣṇa. Lift me from the ocean of becoming. I wish to attain that supreme abode of yours, which is eternal and, by your grace, rarely reached again after return.” The Lord replied with affection, “You are my devotee, O best of sages. Worship me always. By my grace, you will certainly obtain the liberation you desire. Even my devotees among Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, women, Shudras, and those of lowest birth attain the highest perfection—how much more so you, O foremost of the twice-born. Even a dog-eater who is my devotee, endowed with proper faith, attains the perfection he seeks; what need to speak of others?” Having spoken thus, that compassionate God, whose path is hard to discern—Vishnu—vanished from sight. When he had departed, Kandu, the sage, his heart filled with joy, renounced all desires and became composed in himself once more. He restrained his senses, freed himself from possessiveness and ego, and, with concentrated mind, meditated properly upon that Supreme Person. Through this practice, he attained the supreme liberation—untouched, without qualities, peaceful, established only in pure existence—a state difficult even for the gods to obtain. Whoever recites or hears the story of the great-souled Kandu is freed from all sins and attains the heavenly world. Thus, O best of sages, has been described the land of action, the supreme field of liberation, and the supreme God, the Supreme Person. Those who see, praise, and meditate with devotion upon the Supreme Person, known as Shri Purushottama—the giver of boons and liberation, ageless and remover of worldly suffering—after enjoying the pleasures of kingship and pure divine happiness in heaven, will ultimately go, free from all faults, to the imperishable abode of Hari. When Vyasa finished these words, the assembled sages, with senses controlled, were filled with joy and amazement, and their wonder grew with each word. They exclaimed, “Ah! You have described the virtues of Bharata’s land and also the greatness of the field called Shri Purusha, O Purushottama. Hearing of the supreme glory of the field called Purusha, amazement fills not just one, but all of us, and so does joy, O best of speakers. “For a long time, a doubt has lingered in our hearts. Except for you, there is no one on earth who can dispel it. We ask you, O great sage: Tell us in full detail about the birth of Baladeva, Krishna, and Bhadrā on earth. For what purpose were Krishna and Sankarshana, the heroic sons of Vasudeva, born, and why did they reside in Nanda’s house, O sage? “In this world of mortals—devoid of true substance, filled mostly with suffering, exceedingly unstable, like a water bubble, terrifying and hair-raising—how did they find any pleasure in dwelling in the womb, slippery with excrement and urine, painful and distressing, the cause of suffering and more dreadful than all else? “O sage, tell us in detail what actions they performed when they were born on earth. Recount for us their wondrous and superhuman deeds—how that blessed Lord, god of gods, the best among the gods, came as the wise Vāsudeva in the family of Vasudeva, surrounded by immortals, adorned by the virtuous and the righteous. “Why did he leave the world of the gods and come here to the world of mortals—the leader of gods and men, the imperishable origin of heaven and earth? For what reason did the divine Self enter among humans—he who alone turns the wheel, bringing well-being to mankind? How did he, bearer of discus and mace, turn his mind toward humanity, becoming the protector of cows and all beings? “How did Vishnu, the Lord, come to earth and become a cowherd—he who upholds and sustains the great elements and is the soul of all beings? How was he, the glorious one, held in the womb of a woman on earth—he who conquered the worlds step by step in three strides, as desired by the gods? He who established the paths of the world and brought forth the three aims of life—who, at the end of time, drank up the universe, taking on a form made of water; he who made the world into a single ocean with his visible and invisible Self—he, the ancient one, who once assumed the form of a boar—tell us all these wondrous deeds, O best of sages.” Thus, the sages, filled with wonder and devotion, implored the wise Vyasa to reveal the mysteries and divine acts of the Lord’s descent upon earth.