Thus, I have recounted to you, in proper order, the lineage of Manu—the noble line in which the kings themselves are considered portions and sub-portions of Viṣṇu, the divine sustainer of the world. Whoever listens with devotion to this sacred genealogy of Manu, hearing it as it is, finds all sin destroyed and his soul purified. The one who hears the illustrious lineages of the sun and the moon—complete and in order—attains incomparable prosperity, wealth, and undisturbed senses. When one knows of the great kings—Ikṣvāku, Jahnu, Māndhātṛ, Sagara, Avikṣit, Raghu, Yayāti, Nahuṣa, and others—who all eventually reached their end, he remembers that even the mighty and powerful, those with endless stores of wealth, are now but stories, conquered by time and its strength. Having heard of their fates, the wise do not develop attachment to sons, wives, homes, fields, or possessions. Those heroic men who performed severe austerities for countless years, who offered great sacrifices and possessed immense strength, have now faded into remnants of stories, overcome by the relentless march of time. Pṛthu, who traversed all the worlds, undefeated and victorious over his enemies, was destroyed by the wind of time, just as silk cotton vanishes in fire. Kārtavīrya, who subdued all the continents, destroyed hostile kings, and enjoyed their sovereignty, now exists only in tales—his very existence a matter of imagination and doubt. The splendor of the ten-headed Rāvaṇa, which once illuminated all directions among the Raghavas, left not even ashes behind in a moment at the mere frown of the destroyer of Tripura. The emperor Māndhātṛ, whose name was renowned on earth, is now only the subject of stories. Who, even with a dull mind, would cling to possessiveness, thinking it virtuous, after hearing all this? Bhagīratha and others—Sagara, Kakutstha, the ten-headed one, Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa, Yudhiṣṭhira and his brothers—these truly existed, not falsely. Yet where are they now? We do not know. The kings who are present now, and those who will come in the future—whom I have described as most illustrious among the best of Brāhmaṇas—these and all others so named will, in time, become as those before them. Knowing this, a wise man should not harbor possessiveness, not even toward his own self—what then of sons, wives, fields, and other embodied beings? At this point, Maitreya, filled with wonder, spoke: “O great sage, you have described in full the expansion of the royal lines and narrated their deeds as they occurred. Now, I wish to hear in detail the true account of the portion-incarnation of Viṣṇu, who was born in the Yadu dynasty. O sage, tell me of the deeds performed by the blessed Supreme Person, who descended to earth in part and in portion.” Śrī Parāśara replied: “Maitreya, listen now to what you have asked—the deeds of Viṣṇu, who appeared in part and in portion for the good of the world. “Long ago, Vasudeva married Devakī, the daughter of Devaka, a most fortunate woman, radiant as a goddess. At their wedding, Kamsa, the son of Bhoja, became the charioteer, driving their chariot as Vasudeva and Devakī set forth together. Suddenly, a voice resounded from the sky—deep as thunder—addressing Kamsa with respect: ‘Fool, you are driving this woman, standing with her husband on the chariot; her eighth child will take your life.’ “Hearing this, the mighty Kamsa drew his sword and rushed to kill Devakī. But Vasudeva, wise and composed, spoke: ‘O sinless one, you must not kill the blessed Devakī. I will hand over to you all the children born from her womb.’ “Kamsa, accepting Vasudeva’s word, said, ‘So be it,’ and refrained from killing Devakī, honoring his promise. “At that very time, the earth, overwhelmed by a great burden, went to Mount Meru, to the assembly of the gods. There, bowing to Brahmā and all the gods, she spoke with words filled with distress and compassion: ‘Fire is the foremost teacher of gold; the Sun is the supreme teacher among cows; and for all beings, including myself, Nārāyaṇa is the teacher. Brahmā, the lord of the progenitors and the earliest of the ancients, is time itself, composed of moments, instants, and measures, and possesses an unmanifest form. He is the portion present in all these—the assembly of you, O best of gods. ‘The Ādityas, Sādhyas, Rudras, Vasus, the Fires, the Pitṛs, and the creators of the worlds led by Atri—all these are forms of that immeasurable, great-souled Viṣṇu. Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, Daityas, Piśācas, serpents, Dānavas, Gandharvas, and Apsarases—these too are forms of the great-souled Viṣṇu. Planets, stars, constellations, the variegated sky, fire, water, wind, myself, and the senses—indeed, the entire universe is pervaded by Viṣṇu. ‘He who has many forms, whose manifestations as day and night assume the roles of oppressor and oppressed, like waves in the ocean—of Him I speak. Now, these Daityas, headed by Kālanemi, having seized the world of mortals, oppress the people day and night. Kālanemi, who was slain by the mighty Viṣṇu, has now been born as Kaṃsa, son of Ugrasena, that great Asura. Ariṣṭa, Dhenuka, Keśī, Pralamba, and also Naraka, Sumba the fierce Asura, and Bāṇa, the son of Bali—along with many others of great might, have arisen in the houses of kings. These evil-minded ones, I am unable to count. ‘Here are many divisions of armies, gods bearing divine forms, and over me are the proud lords of the Daityas, mighty in strength. Oppressed by this great burden, O lords of the immortals, I am unable to support myself; thus I inform you.’ Such was the plea of the Earth to the gods, setting the stage for the descent of Viṣṇu, for the good of the world.