स्वस्योद्धवस्य तेऽप्येष कृत्वाहं शपथं ब्रुवे ।
दुःसाध्यं तत्पदं ह्यत्र तत्साधनमपि द्रुवम् ॥
svasyoddhavasya te’py eṣa kṛtvāhaṁ śapathaṁ bruve |
duḥsādhyaṁ tat-padaṁ hy atra tat-sādhanam api druvam ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.208)
“Taking this oath before myself, Uddhava, and yourself, I say that here that domain [i.e., Goloka] is difficult to attain, and the means of attaining (sādhana) that certainly is as well.”
Commentary
atreti martya-loka-varti-śrī-mathurā-vraja-bhūmāv eva tat-siddhiḥ syād iti gūḍho’bhiprāyaḥ |
(Excerpt from the Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā)
“The hidden intention of [the mention of] ‘here’ (atra) [in the verse, that is, the mention of Goloka and the sādhana to attain Goloka being said to be difficult to attain for someone who is ‘here,’ that is, in a realm predominated by Śrī Bhagavān’s aiśvarya and awareness of that aiśvarya on the part of bhaktas, such as Dvārakā, where Gopa Kumāra is presently situated] is that attainment of that [i.e., of Goloka] shall occur only in the land of Vraja in blessed Mathurā present in the mortal world [i.e., on Earth].”