Verse 2.2.190

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.2.190:

संसार-यातनोद्विग्नै रस-हीनैर् मुमुक्षुभिः ।
बहुधा स्तूयते मोक्षो यथा द्यौः स्वर्ग-कामिभिः ॥ १९० ॥

saṃsāra-yātanodvignai rasa-hīnair mumukṣubhiḥ |
bahudhā stūyate mokṣo yathā dyauḥ svarga-kāmibhiḥ || 190 ||

saṃsāra–of worldly illusions; yātanā–by the torments; udvignaiḥ–by those agitated; rasa–of taste; hīnaiḥ–bereft; mumukṣubhiḥ–by those desiring liberation; bahudhā–in many ways; stūyate–is glorified; mokṣaḥ–liberation; yathā–just as; dyauḥ–heaven; svarga–Svarga; kāmibhiḥ–by those desiring.

Tormented by material existence, troubled at heart, and bereft of spiritual taste and relationship, seekers of liberation take its shelter to extinguish the fire of repeated birth and death. They regard liberation as the ultimate aim of human life, just as those who aspire for heaven consider heaven, impermanent as it is, to be the pinnacle of happiness.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

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

Śrī Gopa-kumāra may ask, “But why do some people say that the ultimate pleasure is to be found in liberation?”

The bhakti-śāstras reply in this verse beginning with saṃsāra. They say, “Those who praise liberation do so because their minds are tormented by the material world, which is saturated with the pain of birth and death. In this condition, deprived of the sweet taste of transcendental affection (rasa), they never enjoy that special object of affection that melts the heart with love. Because such persons cannot taste any object saturated with sweet, transcendental love, the fire of material existence (saṃsāra) burns their hearts. To escape that suffering, salvationists take shelter of liberation. Although they consider mokṣa to be the epitome of happiness and praise it in various ways, factually, such happiness does not exist. For example, even though heaven is full of miseries such as rivalry, degeneration, and insecurity about one’s tenure there, those who aspire for heaven consider it to be the ultimate bliss. Similarly, those who aspire for liberation consider liberation to be the highest degree of happiness.”