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the Gopas and Gopis, all came there. Kunti and her sons, Bhishma,
Drona and all the kings also went. They all went together.
(The Bhagavata Purana carefully avoids the battle at Kurukshetra.
It barely mentions the duel between Bhima and Duryodhana.
According to the Mahabharata, Bhishma, Drona and all the brothers of
Duryodhana had been killed before the fight took place between
Bhima and Duryodhana. But we find here that they were all present
at the Kurukshetra meeting. A slight explanation will be necessary
to put the readers on the right line of thought. The ideal of
the Mahabharata was Tatva-masi, the unity of Jiva and Isvara.
Krishna and Arjuna looked alike. They were close companions.
This Advaita view struck at the root of Upasana excepting as a
means to an end; it put into the shade altogether the Path of com-
passion, the Path of service of which Narada is the guide for this
Kalpa. So we find even Bhishma being killed. Bhishma died
at Uttarayana and necessarily passed through the Devayana Marga,
as an Upasaka. Whatever might be the goal of Upasana, the
Bhagavata Purana treats of UpasanA as an end and not as a means.
The Bhagavatas, the Satvatas, the Vaishnavas do not ask for Nirvana
Mukti they ask for devotion to the Lord of the Universe. They
work in the Universe as servants of the Lord, taking the whole Uni-
verse to be their own selves. The Kurukshetra battle is therefore out
of place in the Bhagavata Purana. This explains the great meeting at
Kurukshetra instead of the Great Annihilation.)
Kunti complained to Vasudeva that he did not make any
enquiries about her and her sons, in her many afflictions. Vasudeva
said, for fear of Kansa the Yadavas had scattered themselves, and
they could not make enquiries about one another. The Kurus,
Pandavas and the kings were all glad to see Krishna and his wives.
Rama and Krishna duly honoured them all and made valuable pres-
ents. They all admired the good fortune of the Yadavas, in having
Krishna always in their midst.
Nanda and Yasod were duly respected by Vasudeva and his
wives.
Krishna met the Gopis in privacy. He embraced them all,
and, after enquiry about their safety, said smilingly: "Do you re-
member us, O friends? For the good of those whom we call our own,
we have been long in putting down the adverse party. Or do you
think little of us, feeling that we have been ungrateful to you? Know
for certain, it is the Lord who unites and separates all beings. As
the wind unites masses of clouds, grass, cotton and dust particles, and
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