Nārada’s Tapas and the Nāradī Śilā
Nārada, the divine ṛshi and son of Brahmā, is an eternal devotee of Bhagavān Vishṇu. He came to Badarīkāśrama and did tapas (austerity) there for sixty thousand years. This account is from the Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Chapter 4. It tells how Bhagavān Vishṇu appeared to him and how the Nāradī Śilā, one of the five sacred śilās (rocks) of Badarī, came to be.
Nārada’s tapas at Badarī
Nārada Maharshi came to Badarīkāśrama and chose one rock on which to do tapas. His vrata (vow) was vṛkshavṛtti. This means he lived only on the fruits of trees, with no other food. He kept his body, speech and mind in full discipline. He did this tapas for sixty thousand years without a break. Badarīkāśrama is the place of the unbroken tapas of Nara and Nārāyaṇa.
The brāhmaṇa and the darśana
When Nārada’s tapas was ripe, Bhagavān Vishṇu appeared before him. At first he came as a brāhmaṇa, hiding his divine form.
After this first appearance, Bhagavān Vishṇu showed his full divine form. He had four arms and held the śaṅkha (conch), cakra (discus), gadā (mace) and padma (lotus). He shone beyond words. Śrī Lakshmī was with him.
Nārada’s stotra
When Nārada saw Bhagavān Vishṇu in his full divine form, he offered a stotra (hymn of praise). In it he praised Bhagavān Vishṇu as the supreme Paramātmā, the maker and keeper of all worlds, and the goal of all tapas. He praised him as the one who answers a devotee’s bhakti with his own direct presence. The stotra is kept in the Purāṇa.
The varas
After Nārada’s stotra, Bhagavān Vishṇu gave these varas (boons):
- Firm bhakti. Nārada would have steady bhakti (devotion) at the lotus feet of Bhagavān Vishṇu, and it would never shake in any situation.
- Bhagavān Vishṇu’s lasting home in the śilā. Bhagavān Vishṇu said that he would live for ever in the rock on which Nārada had done tapas. From then on this rock would be the Nāradī Śilā, the lasting presence of Nārāyaṇa at Badarī.
- Liberation for all who come near the śilā. All who touch the Nāradī Śilā, bathe in the water linked with it, or sip that water would be freed from pāpa (sin) and reach moksha (liberation).
The Nāradī Śilā
The Nāradī Śilā is a real rock in Badarīkāśrama, and it is also a living form of the presence of Bhagavān Vishṇu. It was made holy by Nārada’s sixty thousand years of tapas and by the vara of Bhagavān Vishṇu himself. It is the first of the five great śilās of Badarī, the Pañca Śilās. Together they form the holy centre of the kshetra (sacred land) near the Agni Tīrtha.
The Nārada Mahā Purāṇa also speaks of the Nāradī Śilā and of the Nārada Kuṇḍa beside it. It says that the darśana of them alone gives moksha, and that every act done near them gives akshaya (never-ending) fruit.
Sources
- Skanda Mahā Purāṇa, Vaishṇava Khaṇḍa, Badarī Kshetra Māhātmya, Chapter 4
- Nārada Mahā Purāṇa, Uttarārdha, Chapter 67