Shloka 22
यत्र नारायणो देवो नरश्च भगवानृषि: । मृदु तीव्रं तपो दीर्घं तेपाते लोकभावनौ ॥ २२ ॥
yatra nārāyaṇo devo naraś ca bhagavān ṛṣiḥ mṛdu tīvraṁ tapo dīrghaṁ tepāte loka-bhāvanau
There, in Badarikāśrama, Nārāyaṇa the Lord and Nara the Bhagavān-sage—both benefactors of the world—have been performing great, long austerities since time without beginning, sometimes gentle and sometimes severe, for the welfare of all beings.
Badarikāśrama in the Himālayas, the abode of the Nara-Nārāyaṇa sages, is a great place of pilgrimage for the Hindus. Even up to the present, hundreds and thousands of pious Hindus go to pay respects to the incarnation of Godhead Nara-Nārāyaṇa. It appears that even five thousand years ago this holy place was being visited by such a holy being as Uddhava, and even at that time the place was known to be very, very old. This particular pilgrimage site is very difficult to visit for ordinary men because of its difficult situation in the Himālayas in a place which is covered by ice almost all year. A few months during the summer season people can visit this place at great personal inconvenience. There are four dhāmas, or kingdoms of God, which represent the planets of the spiritual sky, which consists of the brahmajyoti and the Vaikuṇṭhas. These are Badarikāśrama, Rameśvara, Jagannātha Purī and Dvārakā. Faithful Hindus still visit all these holy places for perfection of spiritual realization, following in the footsteps of devotees like Uddhava.
FAQs
This verse states that Lord Nārāyaṇa and the sage Nara performed long austerities—sometimes gentle and sometimes intense—for the welfare of all worlds.
He highlights the sacred place associated with Nara-Nārāyaṇa and their exemplary penance, establishing the spiritual potency of that setting within the narrative flow of Vidura’s inquiry and Maitreya’s teachings.
Adopt steady discipline suited to your capacity—daily sādhana, self-restraint, and service—sometimes simple (mṛdu) and sometimes more demanding (tīvra), always aimed at inner purification and devotion.