Verse 2.2.4

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.2.4:

आर्तस् तत्र जगन्नाथं द्रष्टुम् ओढ्रान् पुनर् व्रजन् ।
पथि गङ्गा-तटेऽपश्यं धर्माचार-परान् द्विजान् ॥ ४ ॥

ārtas tatra jagannāthaṃ draṣṭum oḍhrān punar vrajan |
pathi gaṅgā-taṭe'paśyaṃ dharmācāra-parān dvijān || 4 ||

ārtaḥ–feeling pain; tatra–there; jagannātham–Śrī Jagannātha; draṣṭum–to behold; oḍhrān–to Orissa; punaḥ–again; vrajan–traveling; pathi–on the path; gaṅgā-taṭe–along the bank of the river Gaṅgā; apaśyam–I saw; dharma-ācāra–to religious behavior; parān–devoted; dvijān–twice-born persons.

Because I was unable to see Jagannātha, I became anxious. But I was also distressed at heart to leave Vraja. In this anguished condition, I proceeded towards the land of Utkala (Puruṣottama-kṣetra) to have Jagannātha’s darśana. On the way, by the bank of Śrī Gaṅgā, I saw some brāhmaṇas engaged in their prescribed religious duties.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

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

Śrī Gopa-kumāra says, “Deeply afflicted by separation from Śrī Jagannātha-deva, I again set out for the country of Utkala. Although I was aggrieved to leave Vraja, I continued my journey. On the way, I saw some brāhmaṇas who were conscientiously practicing their dharma on the bank of the river Gaṅgā.”

In this verse, the word dharma refers to the regular (nitya) and occasional (naimitika) occupational duties of those following varṇāśrama-dharma. The word ācāra, meaning ‘virtuous behavior,’ refers to the conduct of sādhus. The brāhmaṇas who Gopa-kumāra saw were convinced that the execution of prescribed occupational duties along with saintly conduct constitutes the most excellent type of practice.