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, जहाँ सम्पूर्ण भूतोंके स्वामी तथा सबके उपादान कारण स्वयंभू भगवान् विष्णु अपने उत्कृष्ट तेजसे सम्पूर्ण भूतोंको प्रकाशित करते हुए विराजमान होते हैं। वहाँ यत्नशील ज्ञानी महात्माओंकी ही पहुँच हो सकती है। उस नारायणधाममें ब्रह्मर्षियोंकी भी गति नहीं है। फिर महर्षि तो वहाँ जा ही कैसे सकते हैं। पाण्डुनन्दन! सम्पूर्ण ज्योतिर्मय पदार्थ भगवान्के निकट जाकर अपना तेज खो बैठते हैं--उनमें पूर्ववत् प्रकाश नहीं रह जाता ॥| २०-- २२ |। स्वयं प्रभुरचिन्त्यात्मा तत्र ह्यतिविराजते । यतयस्तत्र गच्छन्ति भक्त्या नारायणं हरिम्,'साक्षात् अचिन्त्यस्वरूप भगवान् विष्णु ही वहाँ विराजित होते हैं। यत्नशील महात्मा भक्तिके प्रभावसे वहाँ भगवान् नारायणको प्राप्त होते हैं
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 said: “Dear child! In the eastern quarter, upon Mount Meru, there shines the splendid abode of the Blessed Nārāyaṇa—where Viṣṇu, the Self-born Lord, master of all beings and the very material cause of all, sits enthroned, illuminating all creatures by His supreme radiance. Only disciplined, striving sages of true knowledge can reach that place. In that realm of Nārāyaṇa even the Brahmarṣis find no passage—how then could other great seers go there? O son of Pāṇḍu, all luminous things, drawing near to the Lord, lose their own brilliance; their former light no longer remains. There the Lord Himself, of inconceivable nature, shines with surpassing splendor. It is by devotion that the self-controlled ascetics attain 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.