Skandapurana 2.9.16

Skanda said:

Having ascended the peak of Meru, Nārada, seeing with divine vision

Śvetadvīpa and the thousands of liberated souls dwelling there,

fixed his gaze that very moment upon the blessed Vāsudeva,

and the great yogin flew up and immediately reached that abode. // 2

Having reached the great white island, Nārada, delighted in his mind,

saw those very devotees, white, shining like the moon, and auspicious. // 3

He honored them with his head, and was honored by them in mind.

Desiring to see the supreme Brahman, he remained engaged in rigorous austerity. // 4

Recognizing him as an unswerving devotee of Viṣṇu, those devotees of the Lord,

their minds pleased, spoke to him as he chanted the twelve-syllable mantra. // 5

The liberated souls of Śveta said:

O best of sages, you are a devotee of Kṛṣṇa, since you have seen us here

who are hard to see even for the gods. Desiring what do you now perform austerities? // 6

Nārada said:

I am eager to see the Lord, the supreme Brahman, Kṛṣṇa in person, the master.

O best among devotees, his beloved ones, show him to me! // 7

Skanda said:

Then, one liberated soul from the White Island, prompted in his heart by Kṛṣṇa,

saying, 'Come, I will show you Kṛṣṇa,' went before him.

Delighted, Nārada went with him by the path of the sky;

observing the abodes of the gods, the sage then ascended higher.

Having seen the Seven Seers and Dhruva, attached to nothing anywhere,

he passed beyond the Maharloka, Janaloka, and Tapoloka worlds, O best of brahmins.

Then, having seen Brahmaloka, the sage, following the liberated soul from the White Island,

by the will of Kṛṣṇa traversed the path through the eight coverings as well.

Earth, water, fire, wind, ether, ego, the great intellect, and primordial nature in order—

having crossed these, each tenfold greater than the last, he reached the wondrous Goloka,

that abode full of splendour, attainable only by exclusive devotees of Hari.

As he went, he saw the wide, unfathomable Virajā river,

fragrant with sandal paste washed off in the bathing of groups of gopīs and gopas,

delightful with white lotuses, red water-lilies, and blue lotuses.

Its enchanting bank, made of immense crystal stones,

shining with excellent gems—white, green, red, and yellow—he reached;

frequented by rows of wish-fulfilling trees, adorned with shoots of coral,

embellished with mines of jewels such as the Syamantaka and sapphires,

splendid with flights of stairs inlaid with various precious gems,

frequented by sweetly chirping swans, kāraṇḍava ducks, and other birds,

and by herds of wish-yielding cows, lordly elephants, and horses

drinking the clear water. Resplendent, he crossed over it.

Having crossed the divine river, then instantly, by the will of the Lord,

which served as a moat around that abode, he reached Mount Śataśṛṅga,

made of gold, worthy of sight, one crore yojanas high,

and ten crores of yojanas in width, captivating the mind,

shining with thousands of wish-fulfilling trees, pārijāta and other trees,

with mallikā and yūthikā jasmines, and with clove and cardamom creepers,

with golden plantains and various other trees,

with divine herds of deer, elephants, and sweet-singing birds.

On the delightful ridges of that [mountain] which served as a fortress for that abode,

he beheld vast and charming pavilions for the Lord's rāsa dance,

surrounded by rows of gardens fragrant with blooming flowers,

beautified with four gates having doors studded with jewels,

provided with wonderful archways and thousands of jewelled pillars,

furnished with banana trunks and canopies with hanging pearls,

provided with dūrvā grass, parched grains, unbroken rice, fruits, and auspicious articles,

their courtyards sprinkled with sandal, agallochum, musk, and saffron,

charming with the diverse, melodious sounds of musical instruments.

In them he saw millions of groups of gopīs,

adorned with priceless garments and ornaments, fine jewel-encrusted bracelets,

girdles, anklets, armlets, and rings,

incomparable indeed in youth, beauty, grace, and voices,

sharing the complexion of Rādhā and Lakṣmī, skilled in amorous arts.

In the pavilions filled with various articles of enjoyment,

they sport and sing charming songs of Kṛṣṇa.

Then in the foothills of that mountain, the sage Nārada,

O Sāvarṇi, saw that great forest named Vṛndāvana,

the beloved sporting ground of Kṛṣṇa and Rādhikā,

delightful with rows of wish-fulfilling trees and ponds filled with lotuses,

shining with various trees bending under the weight of fruits and flowers— / mangoes, hog-plums, nīpas, jujubes, pomegranates,

date palms, areca palms, oranges, coconuts, sandalwoods,

rose apples, citrons, jackfruits, walnuts, celestial pines,

plantains, campakas, grapes, and golden ketakas—

bending under the weight of fruits and flowers, shining with diverse trees,

with mallikā, mādhavī, kunda, clove, and yūthikā [creepers],

served by a gentle, cool, and fragrant breeze,

moist all around with waterfalls flowing from Śataśṛṅga,

rich with the beauty of perpetual spring, adorned with rows of jewel-lamps,

abounding in countless bowers supplied with erotic articles.

resounding everywhere, O sage, with the repeated chanting of Kṛṣṇa's praises by cowherds and gopīs,

with the lowing of cows and calves and the chirping of birds, with the sounds of various ornaments,

and with the churning of curds.

Endowed with thirty-two other forests, enchanting to behold,

adorned with various trees bending under blossoming flowers and fruits,

having seen that, overjoyed, he reached the radiant city of Goloka,

circular, with ramparts of jewels, and adorned with royal highways,

resplendent with crores of aerial chariots of Kṛṣṇa's devotees,

and with chariots studded with supreme jewels and adorned with nets of small tinkling bells,

charming with crores of wondrous mansions standing in rows,

adorned with heaps of great gems and rows of jeweled pillars,

fashioned from the essence of jewels, with delightful pleasure pavilions,

radiant with rows of lamps of supreme gems and with jeweled altars,

smeared with liquids of saffron, agallochum, musk, and red powder,

its courtyards adorned with curds, dūrvā grass, parched grain, betel nuts, and plantain trees,

made auspicious with golden jars filled with water and arched gateways,

its paved gem royal avenues bustling with numerous elephants and horses.

The sage rejoiced upon beholding that great highway densely crowded

with lords of numerous universes—headed by Brahmā and Śaṃkara—who had arrived for the darśana of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, holding offerings in hand,

and with throngs of cowherds and gopīs going to see Kṛṣṇa.

Beholding that great highway so crowded, the sage rejoiced.

Then he reached Kṛṣṇa's temple, wonderful in every way and enchanting,

surrounded by rows of palaces of cowherds such as Nanda and Vṛṣabhānu,

having sixteen gates, moated fortresses,

guarded by individual doorkeepers, each surrounded by a crore of cowherds.

At the gates standing before him, with doors and pillars of jewels,

he saw the doorkeepers seated in order:

Vīrabhānu, Candrabhānu, Sūryabhānu the third,

Vasubhānu, Devabhānu, and next Śakrabhānu,

Ratnabhānu, Supārśva, and then Viśāla and Ṛṣabha,

Aṃśu, Bala, Subala, Devaprastha, Varūthapa,

and Śrīdāman; having bowed to them, he entered inside by their permission,

and in an extensive grand courtyard he saw a supreme heap of light.

Thus ends the sixteenth chapter, entitled “Description of Goloka,” in the Śrīvāsudevamāhātmya of the second section, the Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa, in the glorious Skandapurāṇa of eighty-one thousand verses.