Verse 2.3.45

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.3.45:

श्रीमन्-महा-भागवतोपदेशतः सन्-मन्त्र-सेवा-बलतो न केवलम् ।
लीना कदाचिन् निज-पूज्य-देवता-पादाब्ज-साक्षाद्-अवलोक-लालसा ॥ ४५ ॥

śrīman-mahā-bhāgavatopadeśataḥ san-mantra-sevā-balato na kevalam |
līnā kadācin nija-pūjya-devatā-pādābja-sākṣād-avaloka-lālasā || 45 ||

śrīmat-mahā-bhāgavata–of the glorious great devotee; upadeśataḥ–through the instruction; sat-mantra–to the transcendental mantra; sevā–of service; balataḥ–on account of the power; na–not; kevalam–in impersonal liberation; līnā–merged; kadācit–ever; nija–my own; pūjya–adorable; devatā–of the Deity; pāda-abjaḥ–of the lotus feet; sākṣāt–direct; avaloka–for the sight; lālasā–desire.

By the influence of the instructions of mahā-bhāgavata Śrī Gurudeva, and by the power of service to the mantra he gave me, my desire to directly see my worshipable Deity’s lotus feet never left me.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

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

Śrī Gopa-kumāra says, “That abode of liberation was capable of making one forget everything. However, due to the mercy of the lotus feet of Śrī Gurudeva and by the influence of service to the mantra given by him, my desire to see the lotus feet of my worshipable Deity, Śrī Madana-gopāla, did not go away. Therefore, although I stayed there in order to obtain the topmost position, just as I had done in the other realms, I nevertheless remained detached as always.” He explains this in three verses beginning with śrīman-mahābhāgavata. “Due to the instructions of Śrī Gurudeva and the influence of chanting the mantra given by him, my ardent longing to directly see my worshipable Deity, Śrī Madana-gopāla, never disappeared.”