Verse 2.2.226

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.2.226:

तान्य् अतिक्रम्य लभ्येत तन् निर्वाण-पदं ध्रुवम् ।
महा-काल-पुराख्यं यत् कार्य-कारण-कालनात् ॥ २२६ ॥

tāny atikramya labhyeta tan nirvāṇa-padaṃ dhruvam |
mahā-kāla-purākhyaṃ yat kārya-kāraṇa-kālanāt || 226 ||

tāni–them; atikramya–crossing; labhyeta–it can be attained; tat–that; nirvāṇa-padam–the abode of extinguishing the self, impersonal liberation; dhruvam–factually; mahā-kāla-pura-ākhyam–named the region of Great Time; yat–because; kārya–of effect; kāraṇa–of cause; kālanāt–because of the absence.

After crossing those eight layers, one reaches that unchanging realm of liberation. There, material causes and effects disappear, and therefore, it is also called Mahākāla-pura, the abode of the great time factor.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

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

The bhakti-śāstras say, “After crossing those eight coverings, one reaches the abode of liberation known as sāyujya, or mukti-pada. The scriptures tell the famous story of Arjuna going there with Śrī Bhagavān to retrieve the son of the Dvārakā brāhmaṇa. Although from the spiritual perspective, liberation is not restricted to any particular place or by any boundary, because the abode of liberation is beyond material existence, or prapañca, it is assumed to be outside the eight coverings.” This same conclusion should be applied to all the places Gopa-kumāra will later visit.

“As this abode of liberation is beyond material existence, it is imperishable and stable. This realm is known as Mahākāla-pura, the abode of the great time factor. The material realm consists of cause (kāraṇa) and effect (kārya), which are respectively, subtle and gross. It can be understood that the five basic elements constitute cause, and the body and sense organs constitute effect. As cause and effect are vanquished, or extinguished, in the abode of liberation, it is known as Mahākāla-pura.”