Nidāgha, his throat parched and hands full of sacrificial grass and sticks, emerged from the forest and stood apart from the bustling crowds outside the city. At a distance, Ṛbhu, the illustrious sage, noticed him standing alone, purposefully avoiding the throng. Approaching Nidāgha, Ṛbhu greeted him warmly and asked, “Why are you standing here by yourself, O twice-born?” Nidāgha replied with respect, “O brāhmaṇa, there is a great crowd gathered here, O lord of men. Wishing to avoid the commotion, I am standing outside this beautiful city.” Ṛbhu then inquired, “Who among these is the king, and who are the other people? Tell me, best of the twice-born, for I consider you wise and knowledgeable.” Nidāgha answered, “He who is mounted on the great elephant, whose head rises like a mountain peak, is the king. The rest are the other people.” Ṛbhu responded, “Both the king and the elephant are equally visible to me, but you, without distinction, do not mark them as separate.” He pressed Nidāgha further, “Therefore, O illustrious one, tell me the distinction between these two; I wish to know—who here is the elephant and who is the king?” Nidāgha clarified, “O brāhmaṇa, the one below is the elephant; the one above is the king.” Ṛbhu said, “I know this, O brāhmaṇa, just as you do. But why do you speak in such a way, and what else are you indicating?” Thus addressed, Nidāgha quickly mounted up and said to Ṛbhu, “Listen, I will explain what you have asked me. Just as I am now above and you are below like the elephant, so, O brāhmaṇa, I have shown you this example for your understanding. If you are like the king, best of the twice-born, and I am standing like the elephant, then tell me—which is you and which am I?” Hearing this, Nidāgha humbly took hold of both his own feet and said, “You are the revered teacher Ṛbhu, and I am Nidāgha.” Ṛbhu then spoke with affection, “No one else’s mind is shaped by discipline as much as the disciple’s by the teacher; therefore, I consider you to have attained the highest teacher. Thus, in brief, I have instructed you, O wise one, in the essence of the highest truth, as it was taught to me in full.” Having spoken thus, Ṛbhu, the compassionate teacher, departed from Nidāgha. Nidāgha, having received this profound instruction, became wholly devoted to the supreme truth. At that moment, his mind perceived all beings as non-different, just as one devoted to Brahman attains the supreme liberation, O twice-born one. Therefore, O knower of dharma, be equal towards friend and foe, recognizing the Self as present in all, O king. Just as the one sky appears white, blue, and so on, due to differences, so too the one Self, though truly one, appears as many through deluded vision. That which exists here as one alone—whatever it may be—is the imperishable; there is nothing else beyond it. I am that, you are that, and all this is that; abandon the delusion of difference, which arises from ignorance of the Self. Parāśara continued, “Thus addressed by him, the excellent king abandoned the notion of difference and attained the vision of ultimate reality. Endowed with recollection of past births and true knowledge, he attained liberation in that very life. Whoever, with devotion, tells or hears this account of the noble king Bharata, gains a pure mind, is freed from self-delusion, and becomes fit for liberation from the cycle of birth and death.” At this point, Maitreya, the devoted student, said, “O teacher, you have fully described the existence of the earth, oceans, and so on, as well as the forms of the sun and other luminaries, and the details of the stars. You have narrated the creation of the gods and others, and also of the sages, the origin of the four varṇas, and of beings born in other wombs as well. You have described in detail the stories of Dhruva and Prahlāda; I now wish to hear, in order, about all the remaining Manvantaras. And also the rulers of the Manvantaras, along with their leaders and followers, as you have recounted—these too, O teacher, I wish to hear from you.” Śrī Parāśara replied, “The Manvantaras that have passed and those yet to come—I shall properly recount them to you, in order. Svāyambhuva Manu was first, then Svārociṣa, followed by Uttama, Tāmasa, Raivata, and then Cākṣuṣa. These six Manus have passed; now, the son of the sun, Vaivasvata, is the Manu of the present Manvantara. The Svāyambhuva Manvantara at the beginning of the kalpa has been described by me, along with the gods and the seven sages, as appropriate. Now I shall properly describe the rulers of the Svārociṣa Manvantara, the gods, the sages, and their sons. “In the Svārociṣa Manvantara, the Pārāvata and Tushita gods existed; Vipascit, of great strength, was the Indra there, O Maitreya. Ūrja, Stambha, Prāṇa, Vāta, Ṛṣabha, Niraya, and Parīvān—these were the seven sages in that Manvantara. Caitra, Kimpuruṣa, and others were the sons of Svārociṣa. Thus the second Manvantara has been explained—now listen to the next one. “O Brahman, in the third interval, the Manu named Uttama appeared; the lord of the gods was called Suśānti. Hear now of their sons, O Maitreya. Sudhāman, Satyā, Japā, Pratardana, and Vaśavartin—these five are known as the twelvefold groups. These were the seven great sages, sons of Vasiṣṭha; Aja, Paraśudīpta, and others were the sons of Uttama Manu. “In the Tāmasa interval, the gods were called Supāras and also Harayas; Satyas and Sudhiyas—these were the twenty-seven groups. Śivi was the Indra then, renowned for a hundred sacrifices. Now hear from me the names of the seven sages of that time: Jyotirdhāma, Puthu, Kātya, Citrāgni, Dhanaka, and Pīvara—these were the seven sages in that interval as well.” Thus, Parāśara continued to reveal the wisdom of the ages, guiding Maitreya through the cycles of creation, the succession of Manus, the gods, the sages, and the noble souls who shaped the course of the universe.