Verse 2.2.38

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.2.38:

अहं चाभिनवो विष्णु-सेवानन्द-हृतान्तरः ।
न जाने तान् अथ स्वीयैः प्रेरितस् तैर् अपूजयम् ॥ ३८ ॥

ahaṃ cābhinavo viṣṇu-sevānanda-hṛtāntaraḥ |
na jāne tān atha svīyaiḥ preritas tair apūjayam || 38 ||

aham–I; ca–and; abhinavaḥ–very new; viṣṇu–to Śrī Viṣṇu; sevā–service; ānanda–by bliss; hṛta–captured; antaraḥ–heart; na–not; jāne–I know; tān–them; atha–then; svīyaiḥ–by my own (preceptors); preritaḥ–encouraged; taiḥ–by them; apūjayam–I worshiped.

I was new there and was always immersed in the bliss of serving Śrī Viṣṇu, so I did not know proper etiquette. But upon being directed by Guru Bṛhaspati and my other superiors, I duly worshiped those maharṣis.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

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

The brāhmaṇa might ask, “Considering that you had been invested with the post of Indra, was it not your duty to be the first to worship those guests?”

In reply, Śrī Gopa-kumāra speaks this verse beginning with aham. He says, “I had no idea who those great sages were. I was astonished to see them and wondered, ‘Are these some special demigods or celestial sages from Svarga? Or perhaps they hail from another realm.’ They had just arrived, and I could not ascertain anything about their identity. Although I had resided in Svarga for one full year, I was continuously engaged in serving Śrī Viṣṇu and never paid a moment’s attention to anything else.”

The brāhmaṇa might then argue, “Living beings become omniscient by the potency of serving Śrī Viṣṇu. How did you not know anything about the arrival of those great sages?”

Gopa-kumāra explains, “O brāhmaṇa, by dint of serving Bhagavān, one automatically receives all powers, including omniscience, but by the strength of the blessings of Śrī Gurudeva, I was not affected by any of the mystic perfections, which are adverse to bhakti. Especially in regard to the mystic potency of omniscience, had I known everything, then all knowledge of the true nature of Maharloka and other realms would have become manifest in my heart. If in this state I had gone to Maharloka, I would not have felt astonishment upon seeing the glories of that abode, nor would I have experienced the perfect bliss I felt upon going there. Therefore, all those potencies remained covered by the grace of Śrī Guru.” These ideas will be expressed by Śrī Nārada at the end of the Fifth Chapter.

Śrī Gopa-kumāra concludes, “Instructed by the guru of the demigods, Śrī Bṛhaspati, I worshiped those maharṣis in a manner befitting their position.”