Mahabharata starts with the following verse:
ЁЯМ║рдирд╛рд░рд╛рдпрдгрдо рдирдорд╕рдХреГрддреНрдп
рдирд░рдо рдЪреИрд╡ рдирд░реЛрддреНрддрдордо,
рджреЗрд╡рд┐рдо рд╕рд░рд╕реНрд╡рддрд┐рдо рдЪреИрд╡
рддрддреЛ рдЬрдпрдореБрджрд┐рд░рд╛рдпрддредредЁЯМ║
тАЬтАШJayaтАЩ must be recited after having bowed in obeisance before Narayana and also Nara, the supreme human being, and also the goddess Sarasvati.тАЭ
Narayan, the supreme lord and Nara, the exalted human being, are together worshipped along with goddess Saraswati, before reciting the Epic. The Mahabharata identifies Krishna with Narayana and Arjuna with Nara in the divine pair.
The legend of Nara-Narayana is also told in the scripture Bhagavata Purana. Nara and Narayana were both considered as Gods and Rishis, who took birth as sons of Dharma through his wife Murti who was a daughter of Daksha.
Nara and Narayana travelled to the hermitage of Badri in their golden wagons and engaged in fierce austerities there.
Badrinath Mandir's sanctorium, to the far right side of the stone image of Badri-Vishala
(or Badri-Narayana), are the images of Nara and Narayana.
Also, the Nara and Narayana peaks tower over Badrinath.
The Swaminarayan sect worships Nara-Narayana Deva and they are believed to reside at Badrikashram and to be the prime controllers of the destiny of all beings, depending on their karma.