Verse 2.1.155

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.1.155:

कदापि पर-राष्ट्राद् भीः कदाचिच् चक्रवर्तिनः ।
विविधादेश-सन्दोह-पालनेनास्वतन्त्रता ॥ १५५ ॥

kadāpi para-rāṣṭrād bhīḥ kadācic cakravartinaḥ |
vividhādeśa-sandoha-pālanenāsvatantratā || 155 ||

kadāpi–sometimes; para-rāṣṭrāt–from other kingdoms; bhīḥ–fear; kadācit–sometimes; cakra-vartinaḥ–from the emperor; vividha–various; ādeśa–edicts; sandoha–many; pālanena–having to obey; asvatantratā–a condition of dependence.

Sometimes I was fearful of other kingdoms (and their kings). Other times, obliged as I was as a subordinate king to comply with the sovereign emperor’s many edicts, I suffered the distress of being dependent on others.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

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

“Being king, I faced many types of distress.” In this verse beginning with kadāpi, Śrī Gopa-kumāra explains this. He says, “I was fearful of other countries, especially of their inimical kings and the followers of those monarchs. The sovereign emperor, ruler of all countries, would dictate, ‘You are obliged to act in this way,’ or ‘You cannot act in this way.’ My subordinate, dependent position caused me misery because I was duty-bound to abide by his orders. Moreover, my lack of freedom to act at will posed obstacles in my service to the Lord, and this also made me suffer.”