The fourth sloka of Srimad Bhagawata:

नैमिशेऽनिमिषक्षेत्रे ऋषयः शौनकादयः
सत्रं स्वर्गाय लोकाय सहस्रसममासत

The holy place where this takes place is Naimisharanya, which is Neemasar near Lucknow. It has two versions:
नैमिशारण्य, नैमिषारण्य.

First, नैमिशारण्य. We have seen the legend behind the origin of this name in detail. Rishis wanted to stay safe from the onslaught of Kaliyuga and observe tapas. Brahma set a wheel rolling and told them to follow it, and wherever that wheel would stop, that would be the ideal place.

नेमिः शीर्यत इति नेमिशम्—where the rim of the wheel would stop. Why would it stop there? Because of punyadhikaya. It doesn’t have to go any further looking for a better place.

Why is Brahma recommending Naimisharanya? Because it is already a holy place. That is the second version—नैमिषारण्य from animisha. Animisha means Bhagawan Sri Hari. This name is because he doesn’t close his eyes even for a moment, as nothing should escape his eyes.

He had eliminated, in the time that it takes to close the eyelid, a whole lot of asuras here. निमिषमात्रेण दानवबलं निहितं—he had eliminated evil here in a split second. So, like Kurukshetra, Naimisharanya also became a holy place—Kshetra of Animisha, Kshetra of Vishnu.

There is a difference between Kshetra and Teertha—both are holy places. A place that has become holy because of something that has happened there is Kshetra. A place that is holy because of a river, water body, or sea there is Teertha. In Teertha, there is always a connection with water.

There are some places like Prayag which are Teertha Kshetra. Brahma did yaga in Prayag, because of which it is a Kshetra, and also, because of Triveni Sangam, it is a Teertha. Naimisharanya became a Kshetra even before the rishis went there. That’s why Brahma directed the rishis there.

Spiritual acts performed at holy places are 1 lakh times more beneficial. Even Kurukshetra was a Dharma Kshetra even before the battle, because of Parashurama. This, we have seen in detail in Mahabharata.

The name of the yaga being done by rishis under the guidance of Shaunaka is Sahasra Sama, of a duration of a thousand years. Is it really a thousand years? Then, is it different from the one-year-long yaga during which Mahabharata was rendered?

Dvadasha, according to Indian mathematics, can be interpreted as thousand, because if you add two zeros after ten, it becomes thousand. It was a satra. In a normal yaga, the sponsor is called Yajamana, and the Purohitas are called Ritwiks.

In satra, there is no separate Yajamana. The Ritwiks themselves are the Yajamanas. The Ritwiks are performing the yaga for their own benefit.

For what? Swargaya lokaya. Even yagas of smaller duration could make someone eligible for Swarga. Here, the ambition is something much higher. For Swarga, nobody works for 1000 years. Swarga is not permanent either.

Indra becomes the King of Swarga by performing 100 Ashwamedhas, but his tenure is only one Manwantara, one fourteenth of a Kalpa. Here, there is another explanation:

सुवर्गाय वा एतानि लोकानि हूयन्ते
देवेभ्यो वै स्वर्गो लोकस्तिरोऽभवत्

Even though yajnas are performed to attain Uttama lokas, such as Swarga, through which perpetual ananda can be achieved, those who have gone there have realized that it is not so. There are troubles even in such lokas, and they are impermanent.

That’s why these rishis ventured to do a 1000-year-long yajna—to achieve that permanent bliss. And they achieved it. Bhagawan manifested himself as Bhagawata, which gives perpetual bliss—Ananda.

The rishis could have started the yajna aspiring for Swarga. But as they heard Bhagawata, their intent changed. Bhakti developed in them. Before Bhagawata, there was nothing in which Bhakti had so much importance. The other Puranas were too serious; they were more of narratives.

The rishis wanted to attain the loka of Vishnu. स्वर्गायते—स्वर्गायः Sri Hari. His praises are sung even in Swarga. That is why he is called Swargaya. His loka—Vaikuntha.

Now, the purpose of the 1000-year-long yajna is going to change from attainment of Swarga to attainment of Vaikuntha. But see what happened—Bhagawan manifested himself as Bhagawata.

Now, we have seen earlier that narration and listening to Bhagawata has three levels. The depth of understanding and the level of enjoyment also varies according to the level.

Here, the mention is about the basic level—Suta as the narrator and the rishis as listeners. The next level is Narada-Vyasa. The highest level is Shuka Deva-Parikshit.

Also, keep in mind that Bhagawata has seven levels. The same meaning in all the seven levels, but the depth varies—Shastra, Skandha, Prakarnaa, Adhyaya, Vakya, Pada, and Akshara.

The meaning of Bhagawata as a whole is present in every single Akshara of Bhagawata. Every single Akshara of Bhagawata can be interpreted that way. This is something very unique about Bhagawata.

There is another interesting point here: Yajno vai Vishnu. Yajna is Bhagawan himself. So, if someone is performing yajna, that means Bhagawan is present in his body at that time.

It is not even prompting the rishis to perform yajna. It is being present in their body. Bhagawan himself is performing the yajna using their bodies.

Knowledge Bank

Three births

A man has three births. First, the biological birth through the parents. Second, when a Guru accepts him as his disciple. Third, when he gets the opportunity to worship Sri Hari.

When ordinary life should be given up

Not until pure bhakti is achieved. Until then, you should prepare yourself for bhakti by giving up desire for the results of your work.