Because his intentions were always clear and his conduct virtuous, the Self-born Lord, Brahmā, granted you this boon. The Lord himself told me, “Bali will become king of the gods.” That is why Bali now remains unseen by beings, awaiting the proper time for his return. Another boon was also given to you by the Self-born, pleased with your devotion; thus, you and the Asuras should remain unconcerned until the destined moment arrives. Previously, O mighty one, I was not able to reveal this to you, for Brahmā, knowing the course of the future, forbade me from speaking. Now, my two disciples—both from the lineage of Bṛhaspati—have come to me. Together with the gods, they will support and sustain all beings. Hearing these words, all the Asuras, with Kāvyā, pure in action, joyfully departed, accompanied by the great-hearted Prahlāda. When Śukra had spoken of what must inevitably come to pass, the Asuras, emboldened by the hope of victory, armed themselves and challenged the gods. Seeing the Asuras gathered for battle, the gods too assembled their forces, and the two sides clashed. That battle between gods and Asuras raged for a hundred years. In the end, the Asuras overcame the gods, who then consulted among themselves. The gods said, “Let us summon those two by sacrifice; then we shall defeat the Asuras.” So the gods invited Śaṇḍa and Amarka. When the two Brahmins arrived, the gods said, “Abandon the Asuras, and once we have conquered the Dānavas, we will honor you both.” Thus, an agreement was made; Śaṇḍa and Amarka sided with the gods. With their aid, the gods gained victory, and the Dānavas were defeated. Bereft of Śaṇḍa and Amarka’s support, the Dānavas became powerless, and so, by Kāvyā’s curse in ancient times, the Daityas were struck down. Overcome by this curse, deprived of all support, and expelled by the gods, they entered the netherworld. Thus, restrained by the gods, the Dānavas were subdued with great difficulty; and from that time, due to Bhṛgu’s incidental curse, this state of affairs came to be. Again and again, whenever righteousness declined, Viṣṇu took birth, reestablishing dharma and bringing about the destruction of the Asuras. By Prahlāda’s command, those Asuras who would not remain, and all who were destined to be slain by men, were declared by the Lord to be ‘Brahmins.’ In the Cākṣuṣa Manvantara, from dharma, a portion of Nārāyaṇa arose; and in the Vaivasvata Manvantara, the gods maintained the sacrifice. At that manifestation, Brahmā himself was chief priest; and in the fourth Yuga, when the gods were troubled, this was so. At the end of the ocean, for the slaying of Hiraṇyakaśipu, in Viṣṇu’s second incarnation as Narasiṃha, Rudra served as chief priest. When Bali ruled the worlds in the seventh Tretā Yuga, and again in the third, for the sake of Vāmana, the chief priest acted according to dharma. These three are remembered as his divine manifestations, O twice-born. The other seven, which are human and arise from a curse, listen now to their accounts. In the first Tretā Yuga, Dattātreya appeared, accompanied by Mārkaṇḍeya and others, when a fourth of dharma was lost. In the fifteenth Tretā Yuga, the fifth manifestation was King Māndhātā, the universal sovereign, together with Uttaṅka and others. In the nineteenth Tretā Yuga, the sixth was the mighty Jāmadagnya, who destroyed all Kṣatriyas, accompanied by Viśvāmitra and others. In the twenty-fourth Yuga, Rāma was born, with Vasiṣṭha as his chief priest; this seventh manifestation, the son of Daśaratha, appeared for the sake of Rāvaṇa. In the eighth Dvāpara, Viṣṇu appeared; in the twenty-eighth, Vedavyāsa was born from Parāśara, accompanied by Jātūkarṇya and others. To reestablish dharma and destroy the Asuras, the ninth, Buddha, was born through austerity—a lotus-eyed one, beautiful as a god, accompanied by Dvaipāyana and others. In that same age, when it declines and only the twilight remains, Kalki will arise—renowned as Viṣṇu—accompanied by the son of Parāśara. The tenth, to be born in the future with Yājñavalkya, will utterly destroy all beings, both the wicked and heretics. Surrounded by hundreds of thousands of Brahmins armed for battle, at that time he will utterly destroy all Śūdra kings and, having slain the enemies of the Brahmins, will also annihilate all those hostile to him. In the twenty-fifth era, Kalki, accomplished and with his army, will purify the Shudras and himself reach the ocean’s edge. With his power and the wheel of action set in motion, he will bring about destruction, wiping out the base and mostly unrighteous people. Then, Kalki, accomplished and with his army, having restored the people, will bring them to prosperity. Yet suddenly, deluded, the people will turn against one another in rage; driven by destiny, they will destroy each other. When time has passed, that god will withdraw; when the kings are lost, he will disappear for the sake of gathering the people. When protection has ceased, and after killing one another, the survivors—deeply afflicted—will remain in silence. Abandoning ancient villages, equalized and without possessions, with the duties of ashramas lost and the orders and castes destroyed, the world will be changed. At the end of the age, there will be impaling stakes, posts of many kinds, Shiva’s tridents at crossroads, and women with disheveled hair used as stakes—a sign of the world’s decline and the end of the age.