Shloka 23
Arjuna meets the Lokapālas, is tested by Indra, and is led to Amarāvatī for astra-śikṣā
Indraloka-gamana
“तात! पूर्व दिशामें मेरूपर ही भगवान् नारायणका स्थान सुशोभित हो रहा है
vaiśampāyana uvāca | tāta! pūrva-diśi merau eva bhagavato nārāyaṇasya sthānaṃ suśobhitaṃ bhavati, yatra sarva-bhūta-svāmin sarvopādāna-kāraṇaḥ svayaṃbhūḥ bhagavān viṣṇuḥ sva-uttama-tejasā sarvāṇi bhūtāni prakāśayan virājate | tatra yatnaśīlā jñāninaḥ mahātmāna eva gantum arhanti | tasmin nārāyaṇa-dhāmni brahmarṣīṇām api gatir na vidyate; kutaḥ punar maharṣayaḥ tatra yāsyanti | pāṇḍu-nandana! sarve jyotirmayāḥ padārthāḥ bhagavataḥ samīpaṃ gatvā sva-tejo jahati; teṣāṃ pūrvavat prakāśo na tiṣṭhati | svayaṃ prabhur acintyātmā tatra hy ati-virājate | yatayas tatra gacchanti bhaktyā nārāyaṇaṃ harim |
Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Mein Kind! Im Osten, auf dem Berge Meru, erglänzt die herrliche Wohnstatt des Erhabenen Nārāyaṇa—dort thront Viṣṇu, der Selbstgeborene Herr, Gebieter aller Wesen und stoffliche Ursache von allem, und erleuchtet alle Geschöpfe mit seinem höchsten Glanz. Nur disziplinierte, ringende Weise wahrer Erkenntnis vermögen jenen Ort zu erreichen. In jenem Reich Nārāyaṇas finden selbst die Brahmarṣis keinen Zugang—wie sollten dann andere große ṛṣis dorthin gelangen? O Sohn des Pāṇḍu, alles Leuchtende verliert, wenn es dem Herrn nahekommt, seinen eigenen Schein; das frühere Licht bleibt nicht bestehen. Dort strahlt der Herr selbst, von unbegreiflicher Wesenheit, in überragender Herrlichkeit. Durch die Kraft der Bhakti erlangen die selbstbeherrschten Asketen Nārāyaṇa, Hari.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage teaches that the highest divine reality (Nārāyaṇa/Viṣṇu) is transcendent and incomparable: even luminous entities lose their light near Him. Access to that realm is not by status or mere ascetic reputation, but through disciplined striving joined with devotion (bhakti) and inner knowledge (jñāna).
Vaiśampāyana describes to the listener (addressed as ‘son of Pāṇḍu’) the location and nature of Nārāyaṇa’s abode on Mount Meru, emphasizing its inaccessibility even to exalted seers, and concluding that devoted, self-controlled ascetics reach the Lord through bhakti.