Verse 2.1.125

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.1.125:

तद्-वाक्य-गौरवेणैव मन्त्रं तं केवलं मुखे ।
केनाप्य् अलक्षितोऽजस्रं जपेयं कौतुकाद् इव ॥ १२५ ॥

tad-vākya-gauraveṇaiva mantraṃ taṃ kevalaṃ mukhe |
kenāpy alakṣito'jasraṃ japeyaṃ kautukād iva || 125 ||

tat-vākya–for his words; gauraveṇa–out of respect; eva–indeed; mantram–divine vibration; tam–it; kevalam–exclusively; mukhe–in my mouth; kena api–by anyone; alakṣitaḥ–not seen; ajasram–continuously; japeyam–I would chant; kautukāt–out of curiosity; iva–like.

Just as one performs an act simply out of curiosity, out of respect for the brāhmaṇa’s words, I went to a solitary place and began to continuously chant only that mantra.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

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

Śrī Gopa-kumāra says, “Although I was unable to allay the doubts I had, nonetheless, out of respect for the exalted brāhmaṇa’s words, I constantly chanted this mantra, audibly speaking the words. In other words, I would continuously repeat the mantra softly in a solitary place, unnoticed by others. The term ‘being unnoticed by others’ means that I chanted in seclusion because I lacked tattva-jñāna, knowledge of the Absolute Truth.” Gopa-kumāra can also be saying, “I chanted in a solitary place to save myself from embarrassment in public.” The phrase, ‘out of curiosity’ means “I developed eagerness for chanting because my heart was astonished by that mantra.”