Reflecting deeply, the wise minister observed the two visitors before her. She sensed that these two possessed true self-knowledge, for without such understanding, there can be no genuine insight. In those whose sense of existence and non-existence has been purified, all fear of death is dissolved. Moved by this realization, the minister resolved to ask them about a doubt that had arisen in her mind. She thought, “Those who, when given the opportunity, do not inquire about what is meaningful are truly the lowest of people.” With this resolve, she waited for the right moment, restraining her untimely, cloud-like laughter, and then spoke to them with composed clarity. “O sinless and heroic men,” she began, “who are you? Please tell me, for when one encounters those with pure hearts, friendship arises instantly. Know that this king here is the ruler of the Kiratas, and I have been appointed his minister. Together, we patrol the night to restrain those like yourselves. “It is the king’s duty, day and night, to subdue wicked beings. But those who abandon their own duty become mere fuel for the fire of destruction. You, it seems, are a misguided minister to the king, and because of your poor advice, this Arada has come. A good minister belongs to a virtuous king, and a king becomes noble through wise ministers. “From the beginning, a king should be guided by the discernment of a wise minister, for through this, nobility is attained. As is the king, so are his subjects. The highest knowledge of the Self is the source of all virtues. In the same way, a king should be a true king, and a minister should be one who truly knows counsel. “Authority and impartial vision arise from royal wisdom. Whoever does not know this is neither a minister nor a true ruler. If you both possess such knowledge, then you are virtuous and will attain the highest good; otherwise, you bring harm, and I cannot accept you as akin to my own nature. “By a single means, you two boys may cross from my side, if you thoughtfully examine the essence of my cage of questions.” Hearing this, the king replied, “O minister, ask your questions. I am eager to fulfill your wishes. Who in this world, having accepted a request, does not grant it unless hindered by some fault that brings decline?” Thus invited, the demoness—now revealed as the minister—began to put forth her questions. The king said, “Speak,” and she began her inquiry, profound and searching. “O Raghava, listen well to these questions,” she said, turning to the king and his companion. “In the one, in the countless, in the minute, and as in the ocean—within, countless universes dissolve like bubbles. What is space, what is non-space, what is nothing, and what is something? Who am I, truly fulfilled, and who are you, and who am I that stands here? “Who moves yet does not move, who stands yet remains standing? Who is conscious, yet like a stone, and who creates wonders in the sky? Who is fire that does not abandon its fiery nature, and who is fire that does not burn? From the non-fire, how does fire arise, O king, continually? “Who is the imperishable illuminator, even without moon, sun, fire, or stars? And from what, though not perceived by the eyes, does light manifest? For creepers, bushes, sprouts, and those born blind, and likewise for others without eyes, what is the highest source of light? “Who is the origin of space and the other elements, who gives them their nature? Who is the treasure chest of the world’s jewels, and in whose treasury is the world itself a gem? What is the atom that is darkness and light, that both exists and does not exist? What is the atom that is distant yet not distant, and that itself is a great mountain? “What is a moment that is an age, and what is an age that is a moment? What is apparent yet unreal, and what is conscious yet unconscious? What is both airless and air, what is sound and soundlessness? What is everything and nothing, who am I and who am I not, and what can that be? “What is gained through hundreds of efforts and many lifetimes, yet when attained is nothing, and yet everything is attainable? By whom is one’s own self taken away, even while living in one’s own nature? By what atom are the Meru mountain, the three worlds, and a blade of grass contained within? “By what atom is a hundred-yojana expanse filled? What atom alone becomes a world, yet not even in a hundred yojanas? By what mere act of seeing is the world-play enacted? Within which atom are the pots that hold the families of mountains? “What is the atom that does not abandon its minuteness, yet appears in the massive form of Meru? What is the atom that is the hundredth part of a hair’s tip, and what is the towering mountain? What is the atom that is the light revealing both brightness and darkness? Within which atom do all experiences, minute as they are, reside? “What is the atom that, though utterly tasteless, is intensely savored? By which atom, having renounced all, is everything nevertheless supported? By which atom, lacking the power to conceal itself, is the world concealed? By the method of which atom does the world subsist as real? “What is the atom that is without parts, yet has a thousand hands and eyes? What is an instant, or a great age, or even hundreds of great ages? In which atom do worlds abide, as trees in a seed? From seed to fruit, all things, whether manifest or unmanifest, are contained therein. “Of which instant is an age contained within, as life is within a living being? What acts as the agent of action, even without relying on any doer? For the sake of perceivable wealth, the seer may make himself the seen; yet, seeing the seen, who does not see his own self, as the eye does not see itself? “Who, seeing the undivided Self into which all objects have merged, does not see the external objects, even when they appear before him? Who illumines the Self, the act of seeing, and the seen, just as gold pervades ornaments like a bangle, and by whom are these three absorbed? “Why does nothing remain separate, like waves in the great ocean, and by whose will does anything appear distinct, like foam upon the vast sea? From that one, unlimited by space, time, and other conditions, which is both unreal and real, why does even duality not remain separate, but seems to dissolve like water in the great ocean?” Thus, with her questions as a net cast wide, the minister sought to pierce the heart of reality itself, inviting the king and his companion to reveal the deepest truth.