There was a seeker deeply devoted to contemplating the duties owed to the departed body. In his quest, he encountered many who expounded a variety of distinct duties, each presenting diverse doctrines and teachings. Yet, rooted in this pursuit, he found his greatest delight in the truth of the self. His journey led him across the entire earth, until he finally arrived at Mithila. There, his purpose was perfectly fulfilled; he had attained a state free from the dualities and doubts that trouble most. Driven by a longing for the eternal and supreme happiness—so rare and elusive—he sought its realization. It is thought that, through his very presence, he proclaimed this highest aim. At the five streams, he performed a sacrifice that lasted a thousand years, demonstrating his dedication. He revealed the supreme reality, which remains unmanifest within the individual, and he explained to the wise, through the vision of the body, the distinction between the field and the knower of the field. Within that circle of wisdom, Āsuri attained the imperishable. Among them was a Brahmin woman named Kapilī, a householder. She, too, reached the state of Kapilī and steadfast wisdom. Her Kapilī-hood was nothing less than supreme knowledge of all things. Approaching a hundred teachers, she bewildered them all with her reasoning. Yet, after abandoning those hundred teachers, she chose to follow the seeker from behind. He spoke of the supreme liberation, prescribed as Sāṃkhya, and after describing disillusionment with action, he taught of complete disillusionment. He explained that delusion, which brings no comfort, is destructive, unstable, and impermanent. Even as he declared that the highest truth is established by scripture, he was refuted by others. Out of delusion, some considered themselves to be the self, but this is not the true, supreme view. Just as a king imagines himself to be ageless and immortal, so did some among them. But on what grounds can anyone claim certainty about the course of worldly existence? Perception and scripture often stand opposed, and fate is never definite. According to the view of unbelievers, there is no soul apart from the body. Yet, memory of past births, the magnet, the sunstone, and the absorption of water, as well as the cessation of actions after death, are considered evidence for a deeper reality. For the unmanifest cannot be perceived as sharing anything with the manifest. When the mind is lost and burned, it follows the nature of death. When, by form, by birth, by hearing, or by meaning, another is found, one must ask: if this is so, what is the purpose of knowledge, learning, austerity, or strength? Indeed, one may suffer at the hands of ordinary people. Just as if the body were struck with clubs, it would return again. The passage of months and years, the star Tiṣya, cold and heat, pleasure and pain—all are destroyed by death and overwhelmed by old age. The senses, the mind, the vital wind, the blood, flesh, and bone; the arranger of worldly activity; the attainment of the fruits of charity and righteousness—all these, and many other causes, are rightly considered in the mind. For those who reflect upon these matters and speak of them rightly, even so, all beings are afflicted by these misfortunes.