This chapter describes how Lord Krishna received the honor of first worship during the Rajasuya sacrifice, and how He killed Sisupala.

After glorifying Lord Krishna, King Yudhishthira selected qualified brahmanas such as Bharadvaja, Gautama and Vasishtha to serve as the priests of the Rajasuya sacrifice. Then many exalted guests of all the four social orders arrived to see the sacrificial performance.

As the sacrifice proceeded, the ritual of "first worship" had to be performed, and the members of the assembly were called upon to decide who would receive this honor. Sahadeva spoke up: "Sri Krishna, the Supreme Lord, is indeed the most exalted person, for He Himself comprises all the deities worshiped by Vedic sacrifice. In His role as the Supersoul in the heart, He arranges for everyone in the universe to engage in his particular kind of work, and by His mercy alone human beings can perform various kinds of pious activities and receive the resultant benefits. One who worships Him worships all living entities. Surely Lord Krishna should be worshiped first."

Nearly everyone in the assembly agreed with Sahadeva's proposal and loudly congratulated him. Thus King Yudhishthira happily worshiped Lord Krishna. After bathing His feet, the King took the wash water and sprinkled it on his head, and his wives, younger brothers, ministers and relatives also sprinkled that water on their heads. Then everyone shouted, "All victory, all victory!" and bowed down to Lord Krishna as flowers rained down from above.

Sisupala, however, could not tolerate this worship and glorification of Sri Krishna. He stood up from his seat and harshly rebuked the wise elders for choosing Krishna to be worshiped first. "After all" he said, "this Krishna is outside the system of Vedic social and spiritual orders and the society of respectable families. He follows no principles of religion and has no good qualities."

Even as Sisupala continued to blaspheme Him in this way, Lord Krishna remained silent. But many members of the assembly covered their ears and quickly left the hall, while the Pandava brothers raised their weapons and prepared to kill Sisupala. Lord Krishna stopped them from attacking, however, and instead used His Sudarsana disc to decapitate the offender. At that moment an effulgent spark of light rose out of Sisupala's dead body and entered the transcendental body of Lord Krishna. Having lived through three births as the enemy of the Lord, Sisupala now attained the liberation of sayujya, merging into Him, by dint of his constant meditation on Him.

King Yudhishthira then distributed profuse gifts to the respected guests of the assembly and to the priests, and finally he executed the purificatory oblations known as the prayascitta-homa, which counteract errors made during the sacrifice. Yudhishthira's Rajasuya sacrifice having now been completed, Lord Krishna took His leave from the King and set off for Dvaraka in the company of His wives and ministers.

Duryodhana could not bear to see this abundant manifestation of King Yudhishthira's prosperity, but apart from him, everyone happily praised the glories of the Rajasuya sacrifice and of the Lord of all sacrifices, Sri Krishna.