tat tÄta gaccha bhadraá¹ te
yamunÄyÄs taá¹aá¹ Å›uci
puṇyaṠmadhuvanaṠyatra
sÄnnidhyaá¹ nityadÄ hareḥ
tat - that; tÄta - my dear son; gaccha - go; bhadram - good fortune; te - for you; yamunÄyÄḥ - of the YamunÄ; taá¹am - bank; Å›uci - being purified; puṇyam - the holy; madhu-vanam - of the name Madhuvana; yatra - where; sÄnnidhyam - being nearer; nityadÄ - always; hareḥ - of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Both NÄrada Muni and SunÄ«ti, the mother of Dhruva MahÄrÄja, advised Dhruva MahÄrÄja to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Now, NÄrada Muni is especially giving him directions how this worship of the Supreme Person can very quickly fructify. He recommends that Dhruva MahÄrÄja go to the bank of the YamunÄ, where there is a forest of the name Madhuvana, and begin his meditation and worship there.
Places of pilgrimage yield a special advantage for a devotee in quickly advancing his spiritual life. Lord Kṛṣṇa lives everywhere, but still it is very easy to approach Him in holy places of pilgrimage because these places are inhabited by great sages. Lord ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa says that He lives wherever His devotees are chanting the glories of His transcendental activities. There are many places of pilgrimage in India, and especially prominent are BadarÄ«-nÄrÄyaṇa, DvÄrakÄ, RÄmeÅ›vara and JagannÄtha PurÄ«. These sacred places are called the four dhÄmas. DhÄma refers to a place where one can immediately contact the Supreme Lord. To go to BadarÄ«-nÄrÄyaṇa one has to pass through Hardwar on the path to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Similarly, there are other holy places of pilgrimage, such as PrayÄga (Allahabad) and MathurÄ, and the topmost of them all is Vá¹›ndÄvana. Unless one is very advanced in spiritual life, it is recommended that he live in such holy places and execute devotional service there. But an advanced devotee like NÄrada Muni who is engaged in preaching work can serve the Supreme Lord anywhere. Sometimes he even goes to the hellish planets. Hellish conditions do not affect NÄrada Muni because he is engaged in greatly responsible activities in devotional service. According to the statement of NÄrada Muni, Madhuvana, which is still existing in the Vá¹›ndÄvana area, in the district of MathurÄ, is a most sacred place. Many saintly persons still live there and engage in the devotional service of the Lord.
There are twelve forests in the area of Vá¹›ndÄvana, and Madhuvana is one of them. Pilgrims from all parts of India assemble together and visit all twelve of these forests. There are five forests on the eastern bank of the YamunÄ: Bhadravana, Bilvavana, Lauhavana, BhÄṇá¸Ä«ravana and MahÄvana. On the western side of the bank there are seven: Madhuvana, TÄlavana, Kumudavana, BahulÄvana, KÄmyavana, Khadiravana and Vá¹›ndÄvana. In those twelve forests there are different ghÄá¹as, or bathing places. They are listed as follows: (1) Avimukta, (2) AdhirÅ«á¸ha, (3) Guhya-tÄ«rtha, (4) PrayÄga-tÄ«rtha, (5) Kanakhala, (6) Tinduka-tÄ«rtha, (7) SÅ«rya-tÄ«rtha, (8) Vaá¹asvÄmÄ«, (9) Dhruva-ghÄá¹a (Dhruva-ghÄá¹a, where there are many nice trees of fruits and flowers, is famous because Dhruva MahÄrÄja meditated and underwent severe penances and austerities there in an elevated spot), (10) Ṛṣi-tÄ«rtha, (11) Moká¹£a-tÄ«rtha, (12) Budha-tÄ«rtha, (13) Gokarṇa, (14) Kṛṣṇagaá¹…gÄ, (15) Vaikuṇá¹ha, (16) Asi-kuṇá¸a, (17) Catuḥ-sÄmudrika-kÅ«pa, (18) AkrÅ«ra-tÄ«rtha (when Kṛṣṇa and BalarÄma were going to MathurÄ in the chariot driven by AkrÅ«ra, all of them took bath in this ghÄá¹a), (19) YÄjñika-vipra-sthÄna, (20) KubjÄ-kÅ«pa, (21) Raá¹…ga-sthÄla, (22) Mañcha-sthala, (23) Mallayuddha-sthÄna, and (24) DaÅ›ÄÅ›vamedha.