With this, we come to the end of the conversation between Vidura and Maitreya, which corresponds to most of the 3rd and 4th cantos of the Srimad Bhagavatam. By examining all of the important instructions we received in these two cantos, we can see how valuable they are and easily understand why Śukadeva Goswami chose to narrate them.

Vidura heard from Maitreya many descriptions of kings who attained perfection at the end of life. Dhṛtarāṣṭra is also a great personality in a sense, for no common person could be born from the semen of a great sage such as Vyāsadeva and participate in the pastimes of the Lord, even if as an opponent. Vidura knew he had the determination to free himself of material contamination, even though it would be difficult for him to directly surrender to the Lord due to his many offenses. He thus engaged him in the practice of mystic yoga, so he could attain impersonal liberation.

Śukadeva Goswami concludes the narration of the 4th canto, offering a blessing to all sincere readers.

The Lord appeared on the shoulder of Garuḍa, in a form with eight arms, complete with all opulences. The Lord was satisfied with the Pracetas for their perfect recitation of the prayers of Lord Śiva, their dedication in the practice of devotional service, and many other factors, but the point he specifically mentioned when He met them was their sincere dealings with each other:

"My dear sons of the King, I am very much pleased by the friendly relationships among you. All of you are engaged in one occupation — devotional service. I am so pleased with your mutual friendship that I wish you all good fortune. Now you may ask a benediction of Me." (SB 4.30.8)

Just as Rāhu, which is normally invisible, sometimes becomes visible in the presence of the full moon, all the material desires stocked in the mind, which are normally invisible until manifested, become visible at once when the devotee attains the constant association of the Lord. One can thus see his entire stock of desires at once and, simultaneously, see the Lord present before him. In the presence of the Lord, all these material desires look insignificant, and a devotee completely loses interest in them. With all material desires destroyed, there is no more obstacle in one going back home, back to Godhead.

For us, the allegory of Purañjana is quite understandable because of all the details included in the purports of Srila Prabhupada. However, for one with access to just the Sanskrit verses, the meaning of the allegory is not clear at all. That's a situation similar to the second chapter of the Bhagavad-Gītā, where Arjuna becomes confused by the meaning of the verses, while for us, the meaning is quite clear due to the purports. Some of the symbolism was already revealed by the Lord, speaking in the form of the Brāhmana on verses 56 to 58 of the previous chapter, but the king was still puzzled by many aspects of the allegory.

At the beginning of our movement, disciples of Prabhupada had no doubts about our eternal relationship with Krsna and how the soul ends up in the material world, because the only source of information for them was the books of Srila Prabhupada, where the question is explained clearly. However, in the late 1970s, devotees coming in contact with other ideas transformed this point into a battleground. At some point, Prabhupada wrote an essay directly clarifying the topic to his disciple, Madhudvisa Prabhu, which I try to explain in detail here.

Some have the idea that Krsna doesn't care about the jīvas, sending some here and some to the spiritual world in a more or less random fashion. However, this idea is clearly dismissed in the Srimad Bhagavatam. Krsna is the friend of everyone, and the proof is that He follows each soul in its adventures in the material world, accompanying each soul as one goes from one material body to the other. No one can thus say that we are here due to the Lord's indifference. He wants us back; the question is just for us to accept His extended hand.

Just as in the first part of the allegory, Srila Prabhupada adds a completely new layer of understanding to the passage of Purañjana taking his next birth as a woman.

From verse 4.28.29 to 4.28.34, Prabhupada shows how the allegory describes the spread of the cult of bhakti, and how Vaidarbhī became involved in it as a result of her short devotional practice in her previous life as Purañjana. This meaning was first revealed by Srila Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa in his commentary, and Prabhupada further expanded it to our contemporary context.

After being attacked by the forces of Caṇḍavega for many years, the defenses of the city of Purañjana are already worn out. This illustrates the period preceding old age, where one sees a great diminution of energy, and the body starts to give trouble. This is the age the scriptures recommend one retire from active family life and focus on one's self-realization. Purañjana, however, preferred to ignore the warnings, and now Kālakanyā, followed by Prajvāra and Yavana-rāja, will deliver the final blow.

Every conditioned soul lives in a fort that is being constantly attacked by a powerful enemy, the irresistible force of time, which no one can stop. It is just a matter of time until the city falls, but still, Purañjana, the conditioned soul, continued to simply enjoy life together with the senses and desires, without caring for the future. Just like Purañjana, materialists prefer to ignore death until the last moment, believing that somehow or other, they will be able to avoid it. When the time comes, they are surprised.

Just as a king collects taxes and thus enjoys life, we use the facilities of the body. There are billions of cells and other living entities in a human body, and they all perform their respective duties for the maintenance of the body. When we use this body to practice devotional service, they are all benefited, but when we misuse it for sinful activities, we have to face responsibility. We may think that it is our body and therefore we can do anything we want, but it is not like that. This attitude is similar to a king who just plunders the citizens instead of performing his duties.

Purañjana left his queen and went to hunt in the forest. This part of the allegory illustrates the situation of a man who abandons his good sense and goes to perform sinful activities guided just by his senses and the desires of the mind. In the allegory, the queen represents one's intelligence, which may be imperfect and propense to materialistic activities, but that at least offers a degree of piety, religiousness, and morals to guide these activities. Purañjana was already entangled in material life by following his intelligence, but now, without it he becomes busy in simply performing gross sinful activities.