TEXTS 3033
saramsi puskaradini
ksetrany arhasritany uta
kuruksetram gaya-sirah
prayagah pulahasramah
naimisam phalgunam setuh
prabhaso tha kusa-sthali
varanasi madhu-puri
pampa bindu-saras tatha
narayanasramo nanda
sita-ramasramadayah
sarve kulacala rajan
mahendra-malayadayah
ete punyatama desa
harer arcasritas ca ye
etan desan niseveta
sreyas-kamo hy abhiksnasah
dharmo hy atrehitah pumsam
sahasradhi-phalodayah
SYNONYMS
saramsilakes; puskara-adinisuch as Puskara; ksetranisacred places (like Kuruksetra, Gayaksetra and Jagannatha Puri); arhafor worshipable, saintly persons; asritaniplaces of shelter; utacelebrated; kuruksetrama particular sacred place (dharma-ksetra); gaya-sirahthe place known as Gaya, where Gayasura took shelter of the lotus feet of Lord Visnu; prayagahAllahabad, at the confluence of the two sacred rivers Ganges and Yamuna; pulaha-asramahthe residence of Pulaha Muni; naimisamthe place known as Naimisaranya (near Lucknow); phalgunamthe place where the Phalgu River flows; setuhSetubandha, where Lord Ramacandra constructed a bridge between India and Lanka; prabhasahPrabhasaksetra; athaas well as; kusa-sthaliDvaravati, or Dvaraka; varanasiBenares; madhu-puriMathura; pampaa place where there is a lake called Pampa; bindu-sarahthe place where Bindu-sarovara is situated; tathathere; narayana-asramahknown as Badarikasrama; nandathe place where the Nanda River flows; sita-ramaof Lord Ramacandra and mother Sita; asrama-adayahplaces of shelter like Citrakuta; sarveall (such places); kulacalahhilly tracts of land; rajanO King; mahendraknown as Mahendra; malaya-adayahand others, like Malayacala; eteall of them; punya-tamahextremely sacred; desahplaces; harehof the Supreme Personality of Godhead; arca-asritahplaces where the Deity of Radha-Krsna is worshiped (such as big American cities like New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, and European cities like London and Paris, or wherever there are centers of Krsna consciousness); caas well as; yethose which; etan desanall these countries; nisevetashould worship or visit; sreyah-kamahone who desires auspiciousness; hiindeed; abhiksnasahagain and again; dharmahreligious activities; hifrom which; atrain these places; ihitahperformed; pumsamof the persons; sahasra-adhimore than a thousand times; phala-udayaheffective.
TRANSLATION
The sacred lakes like Puskara and places where saintly persons live, like Kuruksetra, Gaya, Prayaga, Pulahasrama, Naimisaranya, the banks of the Phalgu River, Setubandha, Prabhasa, Dvaraka, Varanasi, Mathura, Pampa, Bindu-sarovara, Badarikasrama [Narayanasrama], the places where the Nanda River flows, the places where Lord Ramacandra and mother Sita took shelter, such as Citrakuta, and also the hilly tracts of land known as Mahendra and Malayaall of these are to be considered most pious and sacred. Similarly, places outside India where there are centers of the Krsna consciousness movement and where Radha-Krsna Deities are worshiped must all be visited and worshiped by those who want to be spiritually advanced. One who intends to advance in spiritual life may visit all these places and perform ritualistic ceremonies to get results a thousand times better than the results of the same activities performed in any other place.
PURPORT
In these verses and in verse twenty-nine, stress is given to one point: harer arcasritas ca ye or harer arca. In other words, any place where the Deity of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is worshiped by devotees is most significant. The Krsna consciousness movement is giving the population of the entire world a chance to take advantage of Krsna consciousness through the ISKCON centers, where one may perform Deity worship and chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra and in this way obtain results with effectiveness increased a thousand times. This constitutes the best welfare activity for human society. This was Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhus mission as it was predicted by Him in the Caitanya-bhagavata (Antya 4.126):
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu wanted the Hare Krsna movement, with installed Deities, to spread to every village and town in the world, so that everyone in the world might take advantage of this movement and become all-auspicious in spiritual life. Without spiritual life, nothing is auspicious. Moghasa mogha-karmano mogha jnana vicetasah (Bg. 9.12). No one can become successful in fruitive activities or speculative knowledge without being Krsna conscious. As recommended in the sastras, everyone should be very eagerly interested in taking part in the Krsna consciousness movement and understanding the value of spiritual life.

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