Verse 2.1.202

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.1.202:

निजैः प्रियतमैर् नित्य-सेवकैः सह स प्रभुः ।
नर्म-गोष्ठीं वितनुते प्रेम-क्रीडां च कर्हिचित् ॥ २०२ ॥

nijaiḥ priyatamair nitya-sevakaiḥ saha sa prabhuḥ |
narma-goṣṭhīṃ vitanute prema-krīḍāṃ ca karhicit || 202 ||

nijaiḥ–His own; priyatamaiḥ–most beloved; nitya-sevakaiḥ–regular servitors; saha–with; saḥ–He; prabhuḥ–the Lord; narma–joking; goṣṭhīm–words; vitanute–would engage; prema–loving; krīḍām–pastimes; ca–and; karhicit–sometimes.

Śrī Jagannātha-deva would sometimes engage in jolly talks–smiling and joking–with His beloved regular servitors and would perform various loving pastimes with them.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

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

Now, Śrī Gopa-kumāra explains how, by the Lord’s desire, he developed indifference to residing in Puruṣottamakṣetra, and how he abandoned the kingdom to go to Śrī Vṛndāvana to obtain Śrī Jagannātha-deva’s special mercy.

He says, “The Lord would shower mercy on His beloved servitors. That is, with His beloved, permanent servitors–all indigenous residents of Utkala–He would smile, joke, and perform loving pastimes. However, since the Lord did not show that same favor to me, I became unhappy and indifferent.”

In the next four verses, beginning here with nijaiḥ, he reveals the cause of his mental distress. Here, the term ‘beloved, permanent servitors’ refers to those servants of the Lord who had taken birth in a family lineage of servants of Śrī Jagannātha-deva. Alternatively it can be understood that since these servitors were constantly engaged in the Lord’s loving service, they were His permanent, beloved servants.