Shloka 23
विशाला बदरी यत्र नरनारायणाश्रम: । त॑ सदाध्युषितं यक्षैद्रेक्ष्यामो गिरिमुत्तमम्,गन्धमादन वही है, जहाँ विशाल बदरीका वृक्ष और भगवान् नर-नारायणका आश्रम है; उस उत्तम पर्वतपर सदा यक्षणण निवास करते हैं; हमलोग उसका दर्शन करेंगे। इसके सिवा, राक्षसोंद्वारा सेवित कुबेरकी सुरम्य पुष्करिणी भी है जहाँ हमलोग भारी तपस्या करते हुए पैदल ही चलेंगे
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
viśālā badarī yatra nara-nārāyaṇāśramaḥ |
taṃ sadādhyuṣitaṃ yakṣair drakṣyāmo girim uttamam |
gandhamādanaṃ caiva |
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “There is the great jujube tree (Badarī) where the hermitage of Nara and Nārāyaṇa stands. We shall behold that supreme mountain, ever inhabited by the Yakṣas—Gandhamādana as well.” In context, Yudhiṣṭhira frames the journey not as conquest but as pilgrimage: seeking the sight of sacred places and divine exemplars, and accepting hardship as a disciplined, dharmic undertaking.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes dharmic travel as pilgrimage: seeking holy vision (darśana) of sacred sites and exemplars like Nara-Nārāyaṇa, and accepting hardship with discipline rather than pursuing power or pleasure.
Yudhiṣṭhira describes the destination of their forest journey: the region of Badarī with the hermitage of Nara and Nārāyaṇa, and the supreme mountain Gandhamādana, said to be continually inhabited by Yakṣas.