Verse 2.1.161

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.1.161:

तस्यान्नं पाचितं लक्ष्म्या स्वयं भुक्त्वा दयालुना ।
दत्तं तेन स्व-भक्तेभ्यो लभ्यते देव-दुर्लभम् ॥ १६१ ॥

tasyānnaṃ pācitaṃ lakṣmyā svayaṃ bhuktvā dayālunā |
dattaṃ tena sva-bhaktebhyo labhyate deva-durlabham || 161 ||

tasya–His; annam–food; pācitam–cooked; lakṣmyā–by the goddess of fortune; svayam–personally; bhuktvā–after eating; dayālunā–by the merciful Lord; dattam–given; tena–by Him; sva-bhaktebhyaḥ–to His devotees; labhyate–is obtained; deva-durlabham–rarely attained even by the gods.

“There, Lakṣmī-devī personally makes arrangements and cooks for Him. The most merciful Lord Himself relishes those preparations and then grants His remnants to the devotees. Obtaining those remnants is extremely rare, even for the demigods.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

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

Śrī Gopa-kumāra says, “By His mercy, people obtain mahā-prasāda, which is rare for even the demigods. What is the nature of that prasāda? Parameśvarī, the sublime goddess Śrī Lakṣmīdevī, personally cooks it, and the merciful Lord honors it and then gives His remnants to His devotees.”

It may be asked, “If the Lord eats all the preparations, then what is left over?” Śrī Gopa-kumāra says, “The Lord by nature is very merciful. Therefore to bestow happiness upon His servitors, He keeps aside some remnants of the food He has eaten.” Another understanding is, “He eats the entire offering and then replenishes every item for the happiness of His devotees.”