Chapter summary
नावपुरमाहात्म्यम् Nāva Pura Māhātmyam
The Sadguru said: Upon the western bank, in the sacred place known as Navapuram, resides Hari, Nārāyaṇa, who serves as the very boat for crossing the vast ocean of worldly existence. (v.1) It was here that Hari, prayed to by the Brahmins, took birth as the son of Jamadagni for the welfare of all worlds, specifically to destroy the arrogant *kshatriyas*. With venerable prowess, He made the earth devoid of *kshatriyas* twenty-one times, after which He performed severe penance on the Mahendra mountain. (v.2-3) This Rāma of lotus-like eyes, ever devoted to pilgrimages, wandered through the regions of Kerala, served by hosts of great sages. The sages dwelling on the western bank worshipped Him, and it was here that Rāma, a celibate of firm vows, chose to reside. (v.4-5) To Him, Kamalā herself, with a lovely lotus-face and holding a lotus in her hand, came from Kamalālaya, her abode of lotuses. (v.6)
**Śrī Devī said:**
"Salutations to You, O Lord of all worlds! Be pleased, O lotus-eyed one! Indeed, by Your grace, the burden of the earth has been removed. Cast aside that terrible axe and become peaceful of heart. Accept me, Kamalā, who has come to You of my own accord, the one who never leaves Your side." (v.7-8)
**The Lord said:**
"O Kamalā, come here. I know you to be My beloved; you always shine upon My chest, never separated from Me. (v.9) Yet, you are a Bhārgavī [a descendant of the sage Bhṛgu], and I am also a Bhārgava. Due to our shared *gotra* [lineage or clan], I must forsake you in this birth alone." (v.10)
**Śrī Devī said:**
"I am of eternal form, Your consort in Vaikuṇṭha. In a certain incarnation long ago, I became the daughter of Bhṛgu. (v.11) Stating this very reason, I have been abandoned by You, O Lord. Here, to attain You alone, I shall perform great penance." (v.12)
**The Sadguru said:**
Having declared this, Kamalā, the mother of the worlds, from her abode of lotuses, undertook a very great penance to obtain Hari alone as her husband. Pārvatī and Sarasvatī, in the form of her companions, performed service for her in that sacred hermitage. (v.13-14) Once, a great, elderly Brahmin, wandering on a pilgrimage, came to that hermitage and saw Kamalā there. Kamalā, with her two companions, worshipped him with reverence, and humble and with folded hands, she stood before him in devotion. Seeing that maiden, the best of Brahmins asked, filled with affectionate love, just as a father asks his daughter. (v.15-17)
**The Brahmin said:**
"O child, why do you needlessly perform such severe penance in this forest? Surely, only sages are fit to undertake such austerities. (v.18) O slender-waisted one, by afflicting your body, which is as delicate as a jasmine flower, you cause pain in my heart—you who deserve happiness are deprived of it." (v.19)
**The Sadguru said:**
Addressed thus by him, the smiling Kamalā looked at her companion's face out of shyness, and the companion then spoke these words. (v.20)
**The Companion said:**
"This is my dear friend, Kamalā of lotus-like eyes. To obtain Rāma, the descendant of Bhṛgu, she is performing a very great penance." (v.21)
**The Brahmin said:**
"Alas, you are foolish, O Kamalā, that you desire Bhārgava! Wielding his terrible axe, he wanders the earth in vain. (v.22) Even after making the earth muddy with the blood of *kshatriyas* twenty-one times, there is no satisfaction in his heart, O lotus-like lady! (v.23) Abandoning that descendant of Bhṛgu, who is filled with great anger, desire another groom, a virtuous and handsome man." (v.24)
**Kamalā said:**
"Although his chest is marked by the kick of Bhṛgu's foot, he himself, the Lord of Lakṣmī, was born in that very lineage! (v.25) Who in the world is a man more forgiving than he? You censure him in vain, O Brahmin; sin will surely befall you. (v.26) For one who happens to hear slander of Vishnu and Vaishnavas, a great sin will surely arise; there is no doubt. (v.27) One should immediately cut out the tongue of the wicked slanderer, or else, covering one's ears, one should go far away, leaving him." (v.28)
**The Sadguru said:**
Having said this, the goddess Kamalā, accompanied by her friends, trembling and in a flurry, rose and went outside. (v.29) Then, right there, the Lord, Rāma of the lotus-like eyes, abandoning his form as an old man, assumed his own divine form and spoke. (v.30)
**The Lord said:**
"O Kamalā, I am pleased with your devotion. Before you, in the form of Bhārgava, I am not fit to accept you, a Bhārgavī. (v.31) Therefore, assuming My original form, that of the primordial Nārāyaṇa, I shall accept you, to remove your sorrow." (v.32)
**The Sadguru said:**
Having said this, Lord Rāma cast off his sage-form, and, controlled by devotion, he shone with conch, discus, and mace in his hands. (v.33) Then Bhṛgu came and worshipped Keśava, and gave his daughter Kamalā to Vishnu, the Supreme Soul. (v.34) Kamalā, greatly pleased and united with Nārāyaṇa, gives her divine vision to her devotees in this sacred place [a Divya Deśam, one of the 108 sacred abodes of Vishnu]. (v.35) That fortunate person who beholds this supreme sacred place shall, by the grace of Lakṣmī, attain all auspiciousness. (v.36)
Thus ends the twenty-eighth chapter, titled "The Glory of Navapuram," in the Fifth Part of the "Divya Desa Vaibhavam," composed by Śrī Kṛṣṇapremi Mahāprabhu.
