Verse 2.3.40

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.3.40:

कदापि तस्मिन्न् एवाहम् लीयमानोऽनुकम्पया ।
रक्षेय निज-पादाब्ज-नखांशु-स्पर्शतोऽमुना ॥ ४० ॥

kadāpi tasminn evāham līyamāno'nukampayā |
rakṣeya nija-pādābja-nakhāṃśu-sparśato'munā || 40 ||

kadā api–sometimes; tasmin–in that; eva–indeed; aham–I; līyamānaḥ–merging; anukampayā–by the mercy; rakṣeya–I would be protected; nija–His own; pāda-abja–of the lotus feet; nakha–of the nails; aṃśu–rays; sparśataḥ–by the touch; amunā–by that.

Sometimes, the mercy of the Supreme Lord would save me as I would begin to merge into that effulgent mass. The radiance emanating from the jewel-like toenails of His lotus feet would touch me and protect me from that calamity.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

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

Śrī Gopa-kumāra says, “Since becoming one with Brahman is the very nature of that abode, sometimes I felt as if I were obtaining sāyujya-mukti and merging into that vast effulgence. However, at that time as well, I would be saved by the mercy of the Supreme Lord and remain in my original body. How was this possible? The Supreme Lord protected me from that calamity by granting me the touch of the radiance from the jewel-like toenails of His beautiful lotus feet. That luster also prevented the idea of liberation from ever finding a place in my heart.”