To the north of India lies the Himalayan mountain range. Like other mountains, the Himalayas are adorned with snow caps, vegetation, and many species of birds and animals. They are also home to the ashrams of many great saints.
The divine abodes of numerous devs (demi-gods), including Mahadev, are also situated here. The sacred river Ganga has its source in the Himalayas and splits into seven separate rivers, purifying the earth with its benevolent flow.
Lord Nar Narayan Dev, the worshipful deities of Bharatkhand, also reside in the Himalayas in a celestial place called Badrikashram, where They engage in continuous prayer for the benefit of the souls of Bharatkhand. Shatanand Muni describes Badrikashram in Bhagwan Shree Swaminarayan’s biographical scripture, Satsangi Jeevan, as an image of Akshar Dham. Here, even different animals live side by side, shunning their natural predatory instincts. The ashram’s residents include many thousands of great saints, with countless others coming and going. Swami describes the Badri tree and its fruits, noting their sweetness and lack of thorns. Even the demi-gods such as Brahma regularly visit the Badri tree. The enormous size of the tree lends the name Vishala to the ashram. Uddhavji and Naradji are also residents of Badrikashram. The place is so pure that even the effects of Kali Yuga cannot enter the ashram or infiltrate the minds of its residents.
The background of Uddhavji’s arrival in Badrikashram is worth knowing. When Lord Shree Krishna decided to leave this mortal world, He called Uddhavji and told him to spread His true knowledge—Krishna’s true form as Purushottam Narayan in His heavenly abode Akshar Dham, beyond all the cosmos and all creation. Uddhavji realized that God’s physical presence in this world was about to cease and could not contemplate an existence without it. After Shree Krishna passed on, Uddhavji, overcome with grief, sought solace in Badrikashram, a peaceful place where numerous saints resided. There, Uddhavji found peace and experienced the presence of God, residing in the dual form of Shree NarNarayan Dev.
By the Almighty’s wish, hundreds of great saints, such as Maitreya, Angira, Garg, Marichi, Vasishta, Atri, Valmiki, and others, arrived in Badrikashram on one occasion for the darshan of Lord Nar Narayan Dev, having completed a pilgrimage of Bharatkhand. Before meeting Lord Nar Narayan Dev, all the saints bathed in the purifying waters of the River Ganga. When the saints approached the Badri tree, they saw Lord Nar seated beneath it and paid their respects. Lord Nar, already accompanied by the Nine Yogeshvars, welcomed the saints, offering them seats of straw and expressing joy at their meeting. The saints were informed by Lord Nar that Lord Narayan would soon bless them with His presence. The saints replied, “Oh Lord Nar! The best of all mankind! You are The Almighty. Both You and Lord Narayan are one and the same. However, it is Your greatness that You have assumed two images. Oh Lord Nar! We are very fortunate to have arrived here and meet You.”
At that moment, Lord Shree Narayan entered the assembly. The Lord had tied His hair up in a bun. His body glowed from the severe prayers He was undertaking. In one hand, He carried a kamandal (a vessel for carrying water), and in the other, a stick of palaash. He was dressed in white. Showering His divine sight over all the rushis, Lord Shree Narayan entered the assembly and sat on the seat of straw.
All the saints paid their respects to Lord Shree Narayan by offering items made from all types of flowers. By the grace of Lord Shree Narayan, all the saints went into a trance and saw The Almighty God Supreme in Akshar Dham. When they opened their eyes, they saw the same image in front of them. The saints then prayed to the Lord, “You are all-merciful. Those who do not seek Your shelter through the discourses of saintly persons are destroyed. Without Your shelter, no one is happy. The only route to happiness is Your shelter, whether now or in a hundred years’ time. Oh Lord! You are beyond all that is mortal and immortal. Born of Dharma and Bhakti, You have undertaken prayers for the benefit of Your followers. Even the great serpent Shesha cannot fathom Your glory.”
In reply, Lord Shree Narayan said, “Oh Munis, I am very pleased by your arrival. You are dearer to Me than all the demi-gods, such as Brahma. I cannot forget you because of your most benevolent attitudes. You travel the world, bless pious souls, and continuously remember Me.” He then asked, “Oh Munis, where have you all just come from?” The Munis replied, “O Merciful One! We have just arrived from Bharatkhand.” “O Munis, are the souls in human bodies living according to My established rules?” asked Lord Shree Narayan. The Munis responded sadly, “My Lord, there is no point in talking about religious conduct. Those kings and gurus entrusted with defending religion are themselves committing immoral deeds. As a result, there is no one to look after the people. The people of Bharatkhand have forsaken the path of sadaachaar (moral conduct) and adopted paths of killing Brahmins, drinking alcohol, killing cows, theft, prostitution, and the like. As a result, the highway to Yampuri (hell) is congested. In these dire circumstances, there is no one to teach and propagate the true religion. Therefore, we beg You to show mercy upon the people of Bharatkhand and save them from such predicaments.”
Lord NarNarayndev’s parents, Dharma and Bhakti, arrived in Badrikashram. Upon hearing that saints had arrived in Badrikashram and wishing to see them, they came. Seeing their parents, Lords Shree Nar and Narayan stood up, welcomed them, and offered appropriate seats. All the other Munis also paid their respects to Dharma and Bhakti.
Lords Shree Nar and Narayan explained to their parents, “Mother, Father, these saints have come from Bharatkhand. Currently, evil rules the world, and there is no one to protect the people from such evils. These rushis have brought sad news.”
Everyone was engrossed in listening to what Lord Shree Narayan had to say.
At that moment, the Almighty Lord encouraged Rushi Durvasa to come to Badrikashram. Halting his prayers, Durvasa left Kailash and arrived in Badrikashram, first bathing in the river Alaknanda nearby. After completing his mandatory sandhya vandan, Durvasa entered the Lords’ ashram and saw the gathering under the Badri tree. Everyone was so engrossed in listening to the Lord’s immortal words that they did not notice Durvasa’s arrival. After waiting for 1 ghadi (equivalent to 3 hours) to be welcomed, Durvasa felt insulted and became increasingly angry—his eyes turned red with rage, his body trembled as if about to explode from his anger. He raised his arm and bellowed, “What a surprise! What a sad thing this is. Those who should promote good conduct are adopting bad ones! Having acquired good qualities such as education, yoga, knowledge, and great spiritual heights, these rushis have become arrogant and now disrespect me. Others I can understand, but even this Dharma insults me? I shall teach these people a lesson and avenge this insult!”
“Listen now, you members of the assembly! You are presently in divine form, but you shall soon be cast upon earth and suffer at the hands of evil people and their evil deeds!”
Durvasa stopped speaking. When everyone heard Durvasa’s curse, the whole assembly came to their senses. They turned to see Durvasa in a rage. All the rushis ran towards him and paid their respects, begging for forgiveness, but Durvasa became angrier. The ever-peaceful Dharma approached Durvasa, performed dandvat pranam, and said, “What you have done is correct! The anger of great saints is always a boon to the wrong-doer. We were so engrossed in listening to Lord Shree Narayan’s stories that we did not realize you had arrived. Otherwise, we would have offered everything to you, not just our respects. You are merciful, with a heart as soft as yogurt. Please withdraw your curse.” Moved by Dharma’s plea, Durvasa calmed down and said, “I never withdraw my words, but I don’t know why my mind has softened. So, I bless you that God shall be born of Dharma and Bhakti and will save you all from evil. Thus, you and the rushis will be relieved from my curse.” Having said this, Durvasa returned to Kailash.
Dharma, Bhakti, and the rushis were powerful enough to curse Durvasa in return. However, forgiveness is the jewel of saintly people, and this curse was the Lord’s doing. In fact, Lord Shree Narayan could have stopped Durvasa from uttering a single word but did not. Evil had taken root in Bharatkhand, and the Lord made Durvasa an instrument of His will.
Dharma begged of Lord Shree Narayan, “O Lord! Please save us all from the evil people.” The Lord replied, “O father! Do not fear. What has happened is Purushottam Bhagwan’s wish. Almighty Lord, through this curse, shall be born to you and Bhakti as a son and will save you from evil people, extinguishing evil activities and re-establishing religion with Dharma, Gnan, Bhakti, and Vairagya. Go and take birth wherever you wish on earth, without fear.”
Dharma and all the others bowed to Lords Shree Nar and Narayan and left for their respective ashrams. They began considering where they would take birth. Dharma and Bhakti were eventually born to religious parents in Itaar and Chhapaiya, respectively.