Canto 1 - Boyhood
Bāla-kāṇḍa
Chapter 61: Śunaḥśepa Sold
Text 1.61.3
पश्चिमायां विशालायां पुष्करेषु महात्मनः।
सुखं तपश्चरिष्यामः वरं तद्धि तपोवनम्॥
paścimāyāṁ viśālāyāṁ puṣkareṣu mahātmanaḥ
sukhaṁ tapaś cariṣyāmaḥ varaṁ tad dhi tapo-vanam
paścimāyām = in the west; viśālāyām = on extensive tracts of land; puṣkareṣu = on the banks of Puṣkara Lake; mahā-ātmanaḥ = O great souls; sukham = happily; tapaḥ cariṣyāmaḥ = we will peform austerities; varam = is better; tat hi = he; tapaḥ-vanam = [residence in] a forest for austerities.
O great souls, we will peform austerities happily in the west, on extensive tracts of land on the banks of Puṣkara Lake. Residence in a forest for austerities is better.
In the west were extensive tracts of land fit for austerities.
NOTE. In his purport to Bhagavad-gītā 5.22, Śrīla Prabhupāda quotes Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.5.1 on the significance of the performance of austerities:
nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛ-loke
kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhujāṁ ye
tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena sattvaṁ
śuddhyed yasmād brahma-saukhyaṁ tv anantam
“My dear sons, there is no reason to labor very hard for sense pleasure while in this human form of life; such pleasures are available to the stool-eaters [hogs]. Rather, you should undergo penances in this life by which your existence will be purified, and as a result you will be able to enjoy unlimited transcendental bliss.”