Verse 1.2.51

Bengali text, Devanagari and Unicode transliteration of verse 1.2.51:

যে-স্থানে বৈষ্ণব-গণ করেন বিজয সেই-স্থান হয অতি-পুণ্য-তীর্থ-ময ॥ ৫১ ॥

ये-स्थाने वैष्णव-गण करेन विजय सेइ-स्थान हय अति-पुण्य-तीर्थ-मय ॥ ५१ ॥

ye-sthāne vaiṣṇava-gaṇa karena vijaya sei-sthāna haya ati-puṇya-tīrtha-maya || 51 ||

ye-sthane vaisnava-gana karena vijaya sei-sthana haya ati-punya-tirtha-maya (51)

English translation:

(51) Wherever the Vaiṣṇavas go that place becomes a sanctified place of pilgrimage.

Commentary: Gauḍīya-bhāṣya by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura:

Out of humility the great devotees, or swanlike Vaiṣṇavas, consider themselves impure. They play the role of visiting holy places to purify themselves just to deceive the materialists, while in fact they purify even the holy places. Ordinary places become sanctified by the presence of Vaiṣṇavas. In this regard, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira said to Vidura in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (1.13.10):

bhavad-vidhā bhāgavatās tīrtha-bhūtāḥ svayaṃ vibho tīrthī-kurvanti tīrthāni svāntaḥ-sthena gadābhṛtā

“My lord, devotees like your good self are verily holy places personified. Because you carry the Personality of Godhead within your heart, you turn all places into places of pilgrimage.” When the materialistic enjoying mentality is absent in a conditioned soul, he becomes a sadhu. Places inhabited by Vaiṣṇavas are better than ordinary holy places.