Verse 2.1.39

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.1.39:

वस्तु-तत्त्वानभिज्ञोऽन्यत् स किञ्चित् पर-लौकिकम् ।
साधनं किल साध्यं च वर्तमानम् अमन्यत ॥ ३९ ॥

vastu-tattvānabhijño'nyat sa kiñcit para-laukikam |
sādhanaṃ kila sādhyaṃ ca vartamānam amanyata || 39 ||

vastu-tattva–Absolute Truth; anabhijñaḥ–ignorant; anyat–another; saḥ–he; kiñcit–some; pāra-laukikam–transcendental; sādhanam–means of attainment; kila–indeed; sādhyam–the goal; ca–also; vartamānam–existing; amanyata–he thought.

The brāhmaṇa was ignorant of the fundamental principles of the Absolute Truth, and so he began to think, “In addition to the chanting of the mantra, there must be some other transcendental goal and some other process to achieve it.”

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

(By Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī himself including a deep purport of that commentary)

Śrī Parīkṣit says, “That the brāhmaṇa was ignorant of the principles of the Absolute Truth (vastu-tattva) means that he was unaware of the existence of anything superior or inferior to the chanting of this mantra. He therefore thought, ‘Other than chanting this mantra, there must be another method of attainment (sādhana), and by focusing on that practice, a concomitant goal (sādhya) can be obtained.’ This means that although initially he was indifferent to transcendental (pāra-laukika) activities, now by the power of that mantra, he developed an interest in them. He had not heard about the glories of chanting the mantra from Devī’s mouth, so he was ignorant about the mantra’s greatness. He thought that other goals and other disciplines to achieve those goals must surely exist, and as a result, he had little real interest in the mantra. But this situation actually reveals the mantra’s potency. Even if this mantra is chanted without faith, it still fulfills all desires.” The other glories of chanting the mantra have not been mentioned here; at this point, they are unmanifest.

“Upon receiving Devī’s order, in a solitary place the brāhmaṇa engaged in continuously chanting the mantra he had received from her. The brāhmaṇa’s desire for wealth vanished by the power of that mantra, and he soon experienced peace in his heart. Although in the past, due to his ignorance, he had no desire to pursue any transcendental goal or follow any process to achieve it, by the power of chanting that mantra, he developed knowledge of this transcendental subject matter.”