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Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[ Canto 4, Ch. 12 ]
स्थूले दधार भगवत्प्रतिरूप एतद् ध्यायंस्तदव्यवहितो व्यसृजत्समाधौ ॥१७॥
tasyām viśuddha-karaṇaḥ śiva-vār vigāhya baddhvāsanam jita-marun manasāhṛtākṣaḥ sthūle dadhāra bhagavat-pratirūpa etad dhyāyams tad avyavahito vyasṛjat samādhau
tasyām —in Badarikāśrama;  viśuddha —purified;  karaṇaḥ —his senses;  śiva —pure;  vāḥ —water;  vigāhya —bathing in;  baddhvā —having fixed;  āsanam —sitting position;  jita —controlled;  marut —breathing process;  manasā —by the mind;  āhṛta —withdrawn;  akṣaḥ —his senses;  sthūle —physical;  dadhāra —he concentrated;  bhagavat-pratirūpe —on the exact form of the Lord;  etat —the mind;  dhyāyan —meditating upon;  tat —that;  avyavahitaḥ —without stopping;  vyasṛjat —he entered;  samādhau —into trance.
TRANSLATION
In Badarikāśrama Dhruva Mahārāja’s senses became completely purified because he bathed regularly in the crystal-clear purified water. He fixed his sitting position and by yogic practice controlled the breathing process and the air of life; in this way his senses were completely withdrawn. Then he concentrated his mind on the arcā-vigraha form of the Lord, which is the exact replica of the Lord, and thus meditating upon Him he entered into complete trance.
PURPORT
Here is a description of the  aṣṭānga-yoga  system, to which Dhruva Mahārāja was already accustomed.  Aṣṭānga-yoga  was never meant to be practiced in a fashionable city. Dhruva Mahārāja went to Badarikāśrama, and in a solitary place, alone, he practiced  yoga . He concentrated his mind on the  arcā-vigraha , the worshipable Deity of the Lord, which exactly represents the Supreme Lord, and thus thinking constantly of that Deity, he became absorbed in trance. Worship of the  arcā-vigraha  is not idol worship. The  arcā-vigraha  is an incarnation of the Lord in a form appreciable by a devotee. Therefore devotees engage in the temple in the service of the Lord as  arcā-vigraha , a form made of  sthūla  (material) objects such as stone, metal, wood, jewels or paint. All of these are called  sthūla , or physical representations. Since the devotees follow the regulative principles of worship, even though the Lord is there in His physical form, He is non-different from His original spiritual form. Thus the devotee gets the benefit