Verse 2.2.3

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.2.3:

अथ सन्दर्शनोत्कण्ठा जगद्-ईशस्य साजनि ।
ययेदं शुन्यवद् वीक्ष्य पुरुषोत्तमम् अस्मरम् ॥ ३ ॥

atha sandarśanotkaṇṭhā jagad-īśasya sājani |
yayedaṃ śunyavad vīkṣya puruṣottamam asmaram || 3 ||

atha–then; sandarśana–for a full vision; utkaṇṭhā–a desire; jagatīśasya–of Jagannātha-deva; sā–that; ajani–manifested; yayā–where by; idam–this; śūnya-vat–as if void; vīkṣya–seeing; puruṣauttamam–the land of the Jagannātha-deva, the Transcendental Person; asmaram–I remembered.

After some time, an intense eagerness arose within me to see Śrī Jagadiśa as I did before. Because of this desire, Śrī Vṛndāvana seemed void, and all I could think of was Puruṣottama-kṣetra.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

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

Śrī Gopa-kumāra says, “As in the past, I began to hanker for darśana of Śrī Jagadiśa, the Lord of the universe. Thus this forest and the entire Mathurā-maṇḍala became empty before my eyes.” Here, the suffix vati, meaning ‘as if,’ has been used in the term śūnya-vat, ‘as if void.’ This usage implies that actually Śrī Hari is eternally present in that forest and indeed, in all of Mathurā-maṇḍala.

This is confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam:

पुण्यं मधुवनं यत्र
सान्निध्यं नित्यदा हरेः

puṇyaṃ madhuvanaṃ yatra
sānnidhyaṃ nityadā hareḥ

Madhuvana is fully auspicious because Śrī Hari eternally resides there.—(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.8.42)

मथुरा भगवान् यत्र
नित्यं सन्निहितो हरिः

mathurā bhagavān yatra
nityaṃ sannihito hariḥ

Bhagavān Śrī Hari always resides in Mathurā.—( Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.1.28)

पुण्या बत व्रज-भुवो यद् अयं नृ-लिङ्ग गूढः पुराण-पुरुषो वन-चित्र-माल्यः
गाः पालयन् सह-बलः क्वणयंश् च वेणुं विक्रीडयाञ्चति गिरित्र-रमार्चिताङ्घ्रिः

puṇyā bata vraja-bhuvo yad ayaṃ nṛ-liṅga gūḍhaḥ purāṇa-puruṣo vana-citra-mālyaḥ
gāḥ pālayan saha-balaḥ kvaṇayaṃś ca veṇuṃ vikrīḍayāñcati giritra-ramārcitāṅghriḥ

How pious is the land of Vraja! There, that primeval Personality of Godhead, whose feet are worshiped by Śiva and Ramā (Lakṣmī), is disguised as a human being. Wearing an enchanting garland of forest flowers and playing His flute, He wanders throughout Vraja, tending the cows with Balarāma.—(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.44.13)

Here, the verb añcanti, meaning ‘He moves about,’ is in the present tense. This usage reveals the eternality of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes. It is to be understood that Śrī Kṛṣṇa is forever performing pastimes in Vrajabhūmi.

Śrī Gopa-kumāra recalls, “When remembering Puruṣottama-kṣetra, the desperate yearning I felt to see Śrī Jagadiśa made Vṛndāvana seem empty. In Puruṣottama-kṣetra, Śrī Bhagavān is always present in His directly manifest form, so I thought it would be best to live there.”

Actually, Gopa-kumāra had not yet received the special mercy of Śrī Kṛṣṇa; he had not experienced the unprecedented sweet mellows (rasa) of the land of Vraja in Śrī Mathurā-maṇḍala. Therefore, he desired to go elsewhere. Later on, however, as Gopa-kumāra wandered through various realms, he experienced the reality of those other places. He then left them all and returned here to Vraja, where he finally achieved his desired goal and where he lived forever in full love.