Verse 2.3.9

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.3.9:

पाञ्चभौतिकतातीतं स्व-देहं कलयन् रवेः ।
निर्भिद्य मण्डलं गच्छन्न् ऊर्ध्वं लोकान् व्यलोकयम् ॥ ९ ॥

pāñcabhautikatātītaṃ sva-dehaṃ kalayan raveḥ |
nirbhidya maṇḍalaṃ gacchann ūrdhvaṃ lokān vyalokayam || 9 ||

pañca-bhautikatā–to the world of five material elements; atītam–transcendental; sva–own; deham–body; kalayan–observed; raveḥ–of the sun; nirbhidya–crossed; maṇḍalam–the circle; gacchan–going; ūrdhvam–up; lokān–the fourteen planetary systems; vyalokayam–I saw.

By the power of chanting, I felt my body transform into an unearthly body that was transcendental to the five material elements. Proceeding toward the upper planets, I crossed the sun globe and saw the fourteen worlds.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

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

Śrī Gopa-kumāra says, “While chanting the mantra, I felt that my body had relinquished the five material elements (earth, water, fire, air, and ether). In other words, I transcended the form that had been made of the five material elements and became qualified to enter the abode of liberation.” Gopa-kumāra’s qualification did not entail his giving up his body; he only transcended the material coverings of the soul, thus becoming qualified to achieve the abode of liberation. He says, “Now qualified for liberation, or mukti, I crossed through the sun globe, which is the gateway to liberation. Progressing upwards, I glanced at the fourteen worlds.”