Maitreya, filled with curiosity and reverence, approached the sage Parāśara and asked: “O best among those who uphold dharma, I wish to understand a mystery. In his forms as Hiraṇyakaśipu and Rāvaṇa, though slain by Viṣṇu, he attained enjoyments and prosperity beyond even what the immortals know. Yet, he did not attain dissolution at that time. How, then, in his later birth as Śiśupāla, did he finally achieve eternal union with Hari? Please tell me, for I am eager to learn.” Parāśara replied: “Listen, O Maitreya. To destroy the mighty lord of the Daityas, Viṣṇu manifested as Narasiṃha, assuming a form that creates, sustains, and dissolves the worlds. Yet, Hiraṇyakaśipu did not recognize this being as Viṣṇu. Instead, he believed that the extraordinary Narasiṃha had arisen from an unsurpassed accumulation of merit. His mind, inflamed by passion and focused through contemplation, carried this impression forward. Thus, when he was reborn as Daśānana—Rāvaṇa—he attained the highest enjoyments and prosperity, influencing all three worlds, as a consequence of his previous demise. But even then, his mind did not dissolve in the Lord, who is the beginningless and endless Supreme Brahman, untouched and unattached. In his form as Daśānana, Rāvaṇa remained subject to desire, his heart attached to Jānakī (Sītā). When he was slain by the Lord incarnate as the son of Daśaratha (Rāma), his perception was limited to that human form; he did not recognize or attach himself to the imperishable Lord, his mind clouded by ordinary understanding. As the fruit of falling by the hand of the Imperishable, he was reborn in the illustrious royal line of Cedi, praised across the world, as Śiśupāla. In this birth, too, he enjoyed unobstructed sovereignty. There, he became the cause for the utterance of all the Lord’s names. Yet, due to enmity accumulated over many lifetimes, his mind was bound to reviling and threatening the Lord’s names. He uttered them constantly, in censure and anger, as was his habit from previous times. Despite this, the form of the Lord—resplendent, with eyes like fully blossomed lotus petals, adorned in brilliant yellow garments, a spotless crown, armlets, necklaces, bracelets, noble, four-armed, bearing conch, discus, and mace—never left his mind. In all circumstances—walking, eating, bathing, sitting, lying down—his mind was fixed on the Lord, though in enmity. Thus, even as he constantly uttered the Lord’s name in abuse, he held Him in his heart. As long as he lived, he beheld the Lord—brilliant, rays streaming from the discus in His hand, of inexhaustible splendor, the embodiment of Brahman, free from faults such as enmity—when the Lord appeared before him for his destruction. Then, when Śiśupāla was swiftly slain by the Lord’s discus, all his accumulated sins were burned away by remembrance of the Lord. He was brought to the Lord and there attained dissolution. All this I have declared to you, O Maitreya. Indeed, when this Blessed Lord is praised or even remembered, even with feelings of enmity, He grants exceedingly rare rewards, difficult for gods and demons to obtain—how much more so for one who possesses true devotion! Now, hear of the noble lineage of Vasudeva, son of Anakadundubhi, who had many wives, chief among them Devakī, Rohiṇī, Madirā, Bhadrā, and others. From Rohiṇī, Vasudeva begot sons such as Balabhadra, Śaṭha, Sāraṇa, Durmada, and others. Baladeva himself begot two sons, Viśaṭha and Ulmuka, through Revati. Sāraṇa’s sons were Sārṣṭi, Mārṣṭi, Śiśu, Satya, Satyadhṛti, and others. From Rohiṇī also came noble sons Bhadrāśva, Bhadrabāhu, and Durdama, among others. From Madirā were born sons such as Nanda, Upananda, and Kṛtaka. From Bhadrā came sons such as Upanidhi and Gadā. And in Vaiśālī, Vasudeva begot only one son, Kauśika. From Devakī, Vasudeva had six sons: Kīrtimān, Suṣeṇa, Udāyu, Bhadrasena, Ṛjudāsa, and Bhadradeva. All of them were slain by Kaṃsa. Then, at midnight, the divine sleep sent by the Lord transferred the seventh embryo from Devakī’s womb to Rohiṇī’s. Because he was drawn forth (karṣaṇa), he became known as Saṃkarṣaṇa. Then, the Lord Vāsudeva, the root of the great tree of the universe, who is beyond the perception of gods, demons, sages, and even the minds of beings past, present, and future, who was worshipped by Brahmā and other gods led by Agni to relieve the burden of the earth, descended into the womb of Devakī—He who has neither beginning, middle, nor end. By His grace, the greatness of the mind of Yoganidrā increased, and she entered the womb of Yaśodā, wife of Nandagopa. When the lotus-eyed one was about to be born, the entire world, free from unrighteousness, became peaceful in mind, and all fears from planets, stars, serpents, and the like vanished. With His birth, the entire world was set upon the path of righteousness. Even here, when the Blessed Lord descended to the mortal realm, He had sixteen thousand one hundred wives. Among them, Rukmini, Satyabhama, and Jambavati, the lovely-faced, were foremost; indeed, eight wives were chief. From these, the Blessed One, the embodiment of all, the beginningless, begot ten million sons in each of the eight. Among them, Pradyumna, Charudesna, Samba, and others—thirteen were the principal ones. Pradyumna married Rukmavati, the daughter of Rukmi. From her, Aniruddha was born. Aniruddha, too, married Subhadra, the granddaughter of Rukmini. Thus, O Maitreya, I have revealed to you the wondrous workings of the Lord and the noble lineage of Vasudeva, so that you may understand the greatness of Hari and the rewards bestowed even on those who remember Him, whether in love or enmity.