A the Rajasūya sacrifice conducted by King Yudhiṣṭhira, the king frst glorified Lord Krspa and L then selected qualified brāhmaṇas such as Bharadvaja, Gautama, and Vasistha to serve as the
priests. Then many exalted guests of all 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: "Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, is certainly the most exalted person present, 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 Kṛṣṇa should be worshiped first."
Nearly everyone in the assembly agreed with Sahadeva's proposal and loudly congratulated him. Thus King Yudhiṣṭhira happily worshiped Lord Kṛṣṇa. After bathing His feet, the king took the bath 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 Kṛṣṇa as flowers rained down from above.
Śiśupāla, however, could not tolerate this worship and glorification of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. He stood up from his seat and harshly rebuked the wise elders for choosing Kṛṣṇa to be worshiped first. "After all," he said, "this Kṛṣṇa 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 Śiśupāla continued to blaspheme Him in this way, Lord Kṛṣṇa remained silent. But many members of the assembly covered their ears and quickly left the hall, while the Pāṇḍava brothers raised their weapons and prepared to kill Śiśupāla. Lord Kṛṣṇa stopped them from attacking, however, and instead used His sudarsana disc to decapitate the offender.
When Śiśupāla was thus killed, a great roar and howl rose from the crowd. Taking advantage of that disturbance, the few kings who were supporters of Śiśupāla quickly left the assembly out of fear for their lives.
An effulgent light rose from Śiśupāla's body and, as everyone watched, entered Lord Kṛṣṇa just like a meteor falling from the sky to the earth. Having lived through three births as the enemy of the Lord, Śiśupāla now attained the liberation of sāyujya, merging into Him, by dint of his constant meditation on Him.