Verse 2.2.56

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.2.56:

श्री-गोप-कुमार उवाच—
तच् छ्रूत्वाचिन्तयं ब्रह्मन् वैश्यत्वे स्यात् सुखं महत् ।
प्रभोर् एषां च विप्राणां तद्-भक्तानाम् उपासनात् ॥ ५६ ॥

śrī-gopa-kumāra uvāca—
tac chrūtvācintayaṃ brahman vaiśyatve syāt sukhaṃ mahat |
prabhor eṣāṃ ca viprāṇāṃ tad-bhaktānām upāsanāt || 56 ||

śrī-gopa-kumāraḥ uvāca–Śrī Gopa-kumāra said; tat–that; śrutvā–hearing; acintayam–I thought; brahman–O Brahman-realized person; vaiśyatve–in the condition of a merchant; syāt–there may be; sukham–happiness; mahat–great; prabhoḥ–of the Lord; eṣām–of them; ca–and; viprāṇām–of brāhmaṇas; tat-bhaktānām–of the devotees; upāsanāt–through worship.

Śrī Gopa-kumāra says: O Mathurā brāhmaṇa, hearing this, I thought, “There is great happiness in being a vaiśya, because then I can serve both my Lord and His brāhmaṇa devotees and receive unlimited delight.”

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

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

Śrī Gopa-kumāra says, “O best of the Mathurā brāhmaṇas! I considered the maharṣis’ proposal but thought, ‘I am really happy as a vaiśya. If I were to accept the status of a brāhmaṇa, which is unsuitable for the mood of servitorship (dāsyabhāva), I would be deprived of the right to serve. On the other hand, the body of a vaiśya is especially suitable for serving Yajñeśvara and the Vaiṣṇavas (the Lord and His devotees). Therefore, as a vaiśya, I shall be able to serve them properly and become even happier than these exalted sages.’”