Thus did the Master teach Sanátan all about the temperate conquest of passions (_bairágya_) and condemned arid _bairágya_ which consists of (mere) knowledge. _Vide_ the _Gitá_, xii. 13 _et seq_ and _Bhágabat_, II. ii. 5. Then Sanátan asked about the metaphorical interpretations (_siddhánta_) of all the acts of Krishna's life and the Master clearly explained them. At last Sanátan clasped His feet and biting a wisp of grass in sign of abjectness prayed to Him thus: "I am a wretch, of low caste, and the servant of the unclean. And yet thou hast taught me theological expositions which even Brahmá knows not! My despicable mind cannot contain even a single drop of this ocean of exposition that thou hast poured into it. Thou canst make even the lame dance, if so thou wishest. Lay thy feet on my head and pronounce on me the blessing that all that thou hast taught me may become bright within me. May I derive power from thy power!" And the Master blessed him accordingly. [Text, canto 23.] Again did Sanátan clasp the Master's feet and ask Him, "I have heard that you explained to Sárvabhauma in eighteen different ways the following couplet of the _Bhágabat_, I. vii. 10:-- [Sanskrit words] "My mind, on hearing of it, has been seized with wonder and curiosity. If thou tellest it [again] graciously, my ears will be charmed." The Master answered, "I am a mad man; Sárvabhauma took my mad words for truth. I do not remember what ravings I uttered in his house. But should your company inspire me I may possibly recollect a little of it. My mind is not naturally enlightened as to the sense of the verses; what I shall say is only the outcome of the influence of your company." [His 61 subtle interpretations of the above stanza and the rules of Sanskrit grammar lexicography and logic appealed to by the Master in support of them, are omitted here in the 2nd edition.] Listening to these [sixty-one diverse] explanations, Sanátan was filled with wonder, and praised the Great Master, clinging to His feet, "Thou art God incarnate, the darling of Braja's lord. Thy breath called into being all the Vedas. Thou art the speaker in the _Bhágabat_, and thou knowest its meaning, which none else can under stand!" The Master objected, "Why praise me? Why not consider the nature of the _Bhágabat_, which is like Krishna, all-embracing, the refuge of all. Every couplet, nay every letter of it breathes a variety of senses. By means of a dialogue this fact has been established in the _Bhágabat_ itself. (I. i. 23 and iii. 42). These my interpretations of the _shloka_ are like the ravings of a mad man. Who will accept them? If any one be mad like me, he will understand the meaning of the _Bhágabat_ from this [specimen]."