140
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 3, Ch. 4]
hundreds and thousands of pious Hindus go to pay respects to the incarnation of Godhead Nara-Nārāyaṇa. It appears that even five thousand years ago this holy place was being visited by such a holy being as Uddhava, and even at that time the place was known to be very, very old. This particular pilgrimage site is very difficult to visit for ordinary men because of its difficult situation in the Himalayas in a place which is covered by ice almost all year. A few months during the summer season people can visit this place at great personal inconvenience. There are four  dhāmas , or kingdoms of God, which represent the planets of the spiritual sky, which consists of the  brahma-jyoti  and the Vaikuṇṭhas. These are Badarikāśrama, Rāmeśvaram, Jagannātha Purī and Dvārakā. Faithful Hindus still visit all these holy places for perfection of spiritual realization, following in the footsteps of devotees like Uddhava.
TEXT 23
श्रीशुक उवाच
श्त्युद्धवादुपाकर्ष्य सुहृदां दुःसहं यथम् । 
    शनेनाशमयत्क्षता शोकमुत्पतितं बुधः ॥२३॥
śrī śuka uvāca 
    ity uddhavād upākarṇya 
    suhṛdām duḥsaham vadham 
    jñānenāśamayat kṣattā 
    śokam utpatitam budhaḥ
śrī śukaḥ uvāca—Śrī Śuka Gosvāmī said;  iti —thus;  uddhavāt —from Uddhava;  upākarṇya —hearing;  suhṛdām —of friends and relatives;  duḥsaham —unbearable;  vadham —annihilation;  jñānena —by transcendental knowledge;  aśamayat —pacified himself;  kṣattā —Vidura;  śokam —bereavement;  utpatitam —arisen;  budhaḥ —the learned.
TRANSLATION
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: After hearing from Uddhava all about the annihilation of his friends and relatives, the learned Vidura pacified his overwhelming bereavement by dint of his transcendental knowledge.
PURPORT
Vidura was informed that the result of the Battle of Kurukṣetra was the annihilation of his friends and relatives as well as the destruction of the