Text 1
śrī-śuka uvāca
govinda-bhuja-guptāyāṁ
dvāravatyāṁ kurūdvaha
avātsīn nārado ’bhīkṣṇaṁ
kṛṣṇopāsana-lālasaḥ
śrī-śukaḥ uvāca — Śrī Śuka said; govinda — of Lord Govinda; bhuja — by the arms; guptāyām — protected; dvāravatyām — in the capital Dvāravatī; kuru-udvaha — O best of the Kurus; avātsīt — dwelled; nāradaḥ — Nārada Muni; abhīkṣṇam — constantly; kṛṣṇa-upāsana — to engage in the worship of Kṛṣṇa; lālasaḥ — who had great eagerness.
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Eager to engage in the worship of Lord Kṛṣṇa, O best of the Kurus, Nārada Muni stayed for some time in Dvārakā, which was always protected by the arms of Govinda.
In the Second Chapter of this canto, bhāgavata-dharma, or pure devotional service to Kṛṣṇa, is explained by Nārada Muni to Vasudeva, who had inquired with devotion. Nārada Muni cites a conversation between King Nimi and the Jāyanteyas. According to Jīva Gosvāmī, the word abhīkṣṇam indicates that although Nārada Muni was frequently sent by Lord Kṛṣṇa here and there for various pastimes, such as inquiring about the affairs of the world, Nārada continuously returned to reside in Dvārakā. The word kṛṣṇopāsana-lālasaḥ indicates that Nārada was very eager to be near Kṛṣṇa and worship Him. Because of the curse of Dakṣa, Nārada is never allowed to live continuously in one place. Śrīdhara Svāmī, however, has pointed out, na tasyāṁ śāpādeḥ prabhāvaḥ: in Dvārakā there is no influence of curses or other such evils, because Dvārakā is the abode of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and is always protected by His arms, as shown by the word govinda-bhuja-guptāyām. The conditioned souls are struggling within the kingdom of māyā against the cruel laws of material nature, such as birth, death, old age and disease, but if such conditioned souls have the good fortune to enter the city of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whether Dvārakā, Mathurā or Vṛndāvana, and live there under the direct protection of the omnipotent arms of the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, they will experience the unlimited transcendental bliss of real life, which is eternal and which is meant to be lived in the personal company of God.