Verse 2.1.198

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.1.198:

तत्राभिषिक्तः पृष्टस्या-नुज्ञया जगद्-ईशितुः ।
सम्परीक्ष्य महा-राज-चिह्नानि सचिवैर् अहम् ॥ १९८ ॥

tatrābhiṣiktaḥ pṛṣṭasyā-nujñayā jagad-īśituḥ |
samparīkṣya mahā-rāja-cihnāni sacivair aham || 198 ||

tatra–there; abhiṣiktaḥ–became sanctified by royal bathing; pṛṣṭasya–being questioned; anujñayā–by the order; jagat-īśituḥ–of Śrī Jagannātha-deva; samparīkṣya–examining; mahā-rāja–of a great king; cihnāni–the signs; sacivaiḥ–by the ministers; aham–I.

The ministers of the kingdom then prayed to Śrī Jagannātha-deva, “Who should be crowned as the next king?” Hearing their prayer, Śrī Jagannātha-deva instructed them in a dream that only the person whose body bears signs of royalty should be installed on the throne. Thereafter, the ministers, observing marks of royalty on my person, anointed me as their king.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

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

Śrī Gopa-kumāra says, “Why did the ministers award me the royal crown? They scrutinized my body for all the marks of a sovereign emperor. Discovering these signs on me, they installed me on the throne.”

The Mathurā brāhmaṇa might object, “It is impossible for such a thing to happen to a foreigner, especially one who is destitute.”

Gopa-kumāra replies, “The royal ministers, after deliberating among themselves, concluded that since the deceased king’s eldest son was always absorbed in seeing Śrī Jagannātha-deva’s beautiful face and was completely detached from material life, he would be unwilling to accept imperial responsibilities. Furthermore, as long as the eldest prince lived, the younger princes did not have the right to inherit the kingdom. The king’s other relatives also did not bear royal signs on their bodies. The fact is, a kingless empire on this earth cannot function even for a moment. In this way, after consulting one another, the ministers prayed to Śrī Jagannātha-deva, ‘Whom shall we now install as the king?’

“Then Śrī Jagannātha-deva instructed them in dream, saying, ‘My devotee Gopa-kumāra, who has come from Govardhana, is living here as a pauper. He alone is fit to become the king, and therefore you should establish him on the royal throne.” Alternatively, the Lord’s instruction may be read to say, “If any person is found bearing signs of royalty on his body, he should be made king.” Gopa-kumāra continues, “Following this order of Śrī Jagannātha-deva, the ministers, seeing all the appropriate royal marks on my body, coronated me king.”

Alternatively, it may be said, “Wanting to counteract the backbiting and wicked natures of the young princes and the deceased king’s relatives, the ministers executed the command of Bhagavān Śrī Jagannātha-deva, who is the crest jewel of all clever personalities and the compassionate friend of the poor. Therefore, when they noticed all the royal signs on my body, they anointed me king.”

The physical signs of a king are described in the Ninth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (9.20.24) in relation to Śakuntalā’s son Bharata, who was the sovereign emperor. “Cakram dakṣiṇa-haste’sya padmakoso’sya pādayoḥ–his right hand bore the mark of a discus and his two feet bore the marks of a lotus whorl.”