Devanagari
यत्र नारायणो देवो नरश्च भगवानृषि: ।
मृदु तीव्रं तपो दीर्घं तेपाते लोकभावनौ ॥ २२ ॥
Verse text
yatra nārāyaṇo devo
naraś ca bhagavān ṛṣiḥ
mṛdu tīvraṁ tapo dīrghaṁ
tepāte loka-bhāvanau
Synonyms
yatra
—
where
;
nārāyaṇaḥ
—
the Personality of Godhead
;
devaḥ
—
by incarnation
;
naraḥ
—
human being
;
ca
—
also
;
bhagavān
—
the Lord
;
ṛṣiḥ
—
great sage
;
mṛdu
—
amiable to everyone
;
tīvram
—
severe
;
tapaḥ
—
penance
;
dīrgham
—
very long
;
tepāte
—
performing
;
loka
—
bhāvanau — welfare of all living entities .
Translation
There in Badarikāśrama the Personality of Godhead, in His incarnation as the sages Nara and Nārāyaṇa, has been undergoing great penance since time immemorial for the welfare of all amiable living entities.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
There the Supreme Lord in the form of the sages Nara-nārāyaṇa, merciful to all, who give happiness to all people, have been performing austerities difficult for others for a long time.
There the Lord’s aṁśa, Nārāyaṇa, dwells. They give happiness to all (mṛdu) and have performed for a long time (dīrgham) austerity difficult for others (tīvram). They are the protectors of the world (loka-bhāvanau) or the producers of the world.
Purport
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.