sūta uvāca brahma-nadyāṁ sarasvatyām āśramaḥ paścime taṭe śamyāprāsa iti prokta ṛṣīṇāṁ satra-vardhanaḥ
Synonyms
sūtaḥ—of the name; uvāca—said; brahmanadyām—on the bank of the river intimately related with Vedas; sarasvatyām—of the name; āśramaḥ—cottage for meditation. Pashchime—on the west; paścime—bank; taṭe—the name of the place; śamyāprāsaḥ—thus; iti—said to be; proktaḥ—of the sages; ṛṣīṇām—that which enlivens activities.
Translation
On the western bank of the river Saraswati which is very much related with transcendental subjects like the Vedas etc., there is a cottage for meditation at Shamyamyaprahas which enlivens the transcendental activities of the sages.
Purport
For spiritual advancement of knowlege a suitable place and atmosphere is definitely required. The place on the western bank of Saraswati is specially suitable for this purpose. And there is the Ashram of Vyasdeva at Shayamprasha. Srila Vyasdeva was a householder and still his residential place is called Ashram. A ashrama means the place where the spiritual culture is continuedly made. It does not matter whether the place belongs to a householder or to a mendicant. The whole Varnashrama system is so designed that each and every status of life is called a Ashrama. This means that spiritual culture is the common factor for all. The Brahmachari, The Grihasthas, The Vanaprasthas or The Sannyasins all of them belonged to the same mission of life namely realisation of the Supreme. Therefore none of them were less important so far spiritual culture is concerned. The difference was a matter of formality on the strength of renunciation. The Sanuyasins were held in high estimation on the strength of practical renunciation.