Nārada at Śveta-dvīpa
This account is in Chapter 66 of the Varāha Purāṇa. In an earlier kalpa, Nārada went to Śveta-dvīpa, the White Island in the northern ocean. He saw radiant beings with the śaṅkha (conch), cakra (discus) and padma (lotus), blazing with fierce tejas (brilliance), and all looked like Vishṇu. He did not know which of them was the true Vishṇu, so he meditated for a thousand divine years on Bhagavān Kṛshṇa. Bhagavān Kṛshṇa appeared and taught him the Pañcarātra, the most ancient and holy system of pūjā. The Purāṇa tells this within a longer talk on vratas and the dharma of the whole cosmos.
How the account begins
A king asks Agastya to describe something wonderful that he has seen. Agastya answers that Bhagavān Vishṇu, the lord of the whole earth (sarvabhauma), is himself the form of wonder, and his greatness shows itself in countless ways. Then he tells what the great Nārada saw at Śveta-dvīpa.
The sight at Śveta-dvīpa
In an earlier kalpa, the devarshi Nārada came to Śveta-dvīpa, the White Island. There he saw many radiant purushas (divine beings). Each carried the śaṅkha, cakra and padma and blazed with great tejas. Each was like Vishṇu. As Nārada looked at them, deep doubt came over him. He thought, “This one is Vishṇu; this one too is Vishṇu; this is the eternal Vishṇu.” But who among them all was the true Bhagavān Vishṇu?
A thousand years of meditation
Nārada’s heart was held by this dhyāna-praśna (a question that rose from the vision). He turned his meditation to Bhagavān Kṛshṇa, who carries the śaṅkha, cakra and gadā. He meditated with perfect ekāgratā (one-pointed attention) for a thousand divine years. The Deva-deva was pleased by this deep and steady meditation.
Bhagavān Kṛshṇa appears and teaches
Bhagavān Kṛshṇa appeared before Nārada with a gracious mind (prasanna citta). He said, “Nārada, what vara (boon) shall I give you? O great muni, ask.”
Nārada bowed and said, “O Bhuvaneśvara, I have meditated on you for a thousand and one years. If you are pleased with me, tell me: how does one truly reach you?”
Bhagavān Kṛshṇa answered:
“Those who worship me with the Purusha-sūkta as their base, and those who always study the Veda-saṃhitās, will reach me. When the Vedas and śāstras cannot be reached, those who worship me by the path shown in the Pañcarātra also reach me. The Pañcarātra way is laid down for brāhmaṇas, kshatriyas and vaiśyas. For śūdras and others, it is enough to go to holy kshetras and repeat my name. Other forms of pūjā are not asked of them.
“O best of the learned! In an earlier kalpa I declared this Pañcarātra, wishing that even one in thousands might grasp it. I spoke it for the one devotee whose karma is used up, in whose heart it will stay always. Others are wrapped in rajasa and tamasa tendencies, and they will turn their faces away from living near me.
“In the three yugas, Kṛta, Tretā and Dvāpara, those who stand firm in sattva will reach me. In the Kali age the many who are ruled by rajas and tamas will be the majority.”
The second vara: full knowledge of the Pañcarātra
Bhagavān Kṛshṇa then gave Nārada a second vara. He said, “By my grace you will understand this very rare Pañcarātra śāstra fully, without any doubt.”
He also declared that the fourfold path is supreme: “Through the Vedas, the Pañcarātra, bhakti and yajña, by these alone does a human being reach me. O son, by any other means I cannot be reached, even in crores of years.”
What the Pañcarātra is
Here the Pañcarātra is shown as an ancient gift from Bhagavān Kṛshṇa himself. It is his own śāstra for the age when the full Vedic system cannot be reached. The Purāṇa says plainly that in the Dvāpara age the Pañcarātra way of upāsanā (meditative pūjā) is the main path. Nārada received both the sight of the radiant forms of Vishṇu and the teaching of the Pañcarātra. Then he left for svarga.
Sources
- Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 66