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Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana: Book 3: Chapter 4: Verses 1-15
As directed by Uddhava, Vidura calls on the sage Maitreya
Uddhava continued : Then, after taking their meals with the permission of those Brahmanas, they drank wine and, having been deprived of their wits by tipsiness, cut one another to the quick by hurling abuses. Their intellect having been perverted due to the inebriating effect of wine, by sunset they began fighting (to death) among themselves like bamboos rubbing against one another. Beholding the ways of His own Maya (deluding potency), the Lord sipped the water from the Saraswati and sat down at the foot of a (peepul) tree (near its bank). (Before this) when the Lord, who relieves the agony of those who resort to Him for protection, made up His mind to exterminate His race, He told me (even at Dwaraka) to proceed to Badarivana (the spot where the divine sages Nara and Narayana still practise their austere penance). Although, O vanquisher of foes, I was aware of His intentions, I nevertheless went after Him, unable to bear separation from His feet. Looking for my beloved lord, I beheld Him, the abode of all splendour, seated all alone on the bank of the Saraswati, although (as a matter of fact) He is shelterless (being the shelter. of all). Possessed of a brilliant swarthy form, which is all Sattva or purity (free from a mixture of Rajas or passion), with reddish yet most gentle eyes, He could be easily distinguished by His four arms and the yellow silk on His person. Placing His lotus-like right foot on His left thigh, He was reclining against a young Aswattha (peepul) tree, and was full of joy, even though He had renounced the pleasures of sense. Meandering through the various worlds, there came by chance at that moment the enlightened sage Maitreya, a great devotee of the Lord and a loving friend and fellow-student of the sage Dwaipayana (Vedavyasa). While that devoted sage stood listening with rapt attention, his head bent low in the ecstasy of delight and emotion, Lord Sri Krsna (the Bestower of Liberation) spoke to me (as follows), refreshing me by His endearing smiles and affectionate glances.
The Lord said : Dwelling within you, I know the desire of your heart and proceed to confer on you that which is difficult for others to attain. In your previous incarnation, when you were a Vasu, (O Uddhava !) you worshipped Me, in the sacrifice jointly performed by the Prajapatis (the lords of created beings) and the Vasus, with the sole object of attaining Me. The present is certainly your last incarnation, 0 saintly Uddhava, since you have earned My grace in this life. You are indeed fortunate in having seen Me on this secluded spot, by virtue of your unalloyed devotion, at a time when I am about to leave this mortal world (and return to My eternal Abode). (I am going to impart to you) that supreme wisdom, revealing My glory, which the sages call by the name of 'Bhagavata' and which I taught to Brahma (the unborn), who was seated on the lotus that had sprung from My navel, in a former cycle (called the Padma-Kalpa) at the dawn of creation.
Thus politely addressed by the Lord, and a recipient of His constant favour, I returned in faltering accents with joined palms, the hair on my body standing erect through affection and tears flowing from my eyes : "Which on earth of the four objects (of human pursuit), my lord, is difficult to attain for those who are devoted to Your lotus-feet ?Yet, O Perfect One, I crave for none of these, keen as I am to worship Your lotus-feet.
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