Text 44] Dhruva Mahārāja Leaves Home for the Forest
321
snātvā —after taking bath;  anusavanam —three times;  tasmin —in that;  kālindyāḥ —in the River Kālindī (the Yamunā);  salile —in the water;  śive —which is very auspicious;  kṛtvā —performing;  ucitāni —suitable;  nivasan —sitting;  ātmanaḥ —of the self;  kalpita-āsanaḥ —having prepared a sitting place.
TRANSLATION
Nārada Muni instructed: My dear boy, in the waters of the Yamunā River, which is known as Kālindī, you should take three baths daily because the water is very auspicious, sacred and clear. After bathing, you should perform the necessary regulative principles for  aṣṭānga-yoga  and then sit down on your  āsana  [sitting place] in a calm and quiet position.
PURPORT
It appears from this statement that Dhruva Mahārāja had already been instructed how to practice the eightfold  yoga  system, which is known as  aṣṭānga-yoga . This system is explained in our  Bhagavad-gītā As It Is , in the chapter entitled “ Sāṅkhya-yoga ,” pages 319-322. It is understood that in  aṣṭānga-yoga  one practices settling the mind and then concentrating it on the form of Lord Viṣṇu, as will be described in the following verses. It is clearly stated here that  aṣṭānga-yoga  is not a bodily gymnastic exercise, but a practice to concentrate the mind on the form of Viṣṇu. Before sitting on his  āsana , which is also described in  Bhagavad-gītā , one has to cleanse himself very nicely in clear or sacred water thrice daily. The water of Yamunā is naturally very clear and pure, and thus if anyone bathes there three times, undoubtedly he will be very greatly purified externally. Nārada Muni, therefore, instructed Dhruva Mahārāja to go to the bank of the Yamunā and thus become externally purified. This is part of the gradual process of practicing mystic  yoga .
TEXT 44
प्राणायामेन त्रिवृता प्राणेन्द्रियमनोमलम् । शनैर्व्युदस्याभिध्यायेन्मनसा गुरुणा गुरुम् ॥४४॥
prāṇāyāmena tri-vṛtā prāṇendriya-mano-malam śanair vyudasyābhidhyāyen manasā guruṇā gurum
prāṇāyāmena —by breathing exercise;  tri-vṛtā —by the three recommended ways;  prāṇa-indriya —the life air and the senses;  manaḥ —mind;  malam —