Verse 2.3.181

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.3.181:

कायाधवादेर् हृदि पश्यतोऽपि प्रभुं सदाक्ष्णा किल तद्-दिदृक्षा ।
तत्र प्रमाणं हि तथावलोकाद् अनन्तरं भव-विशेष-लाभः ॥ १८१ ॥

kāyādhavāder hṛdi paśyato'pi prabhuṃ sadākṣṇā kila tad-didṛkṣā |
tatra pramāṇaṃ hi tathāvalokād anantaraṃ bhava-viśeṣa-lābhaḥ || 181 ||

kāyādhava-ādeḥ–beginning with Prahlāda, the son of Kayādhu; hṛdi–in the heart; paśyataḥ–by seeing; api–also; prabhum–the Lord; sadā–always; akṣnā–with external vision; kila–indeed; taddidṛkṣā–the desire to see Him; tatra–there; pramāṇam–evidence; hi–indeed; tathā–thus; avalokanāt–through the eyes; anantaram–after; bhāva–ecstasy; viśeṣa–special; lābhaḥ–attainment

Although Śrī Prahlāda, the son of Kayādhu, saw the Lord within his heart, still, he always hankered to see the Lord externally with his eyes. The evidence of this is that when he directly saw the Lord on the shore of the ocean, he experienced an extraordinary state of love for Him.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

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

Using the example of saintly persons as specific evidence, the Vaikuṇṭha pārṣadas speak this verse beginning with kāya. They say, “Although many devotees, including Śrī Prahlāda, the son of Hiraṇyakaśipu’s wife Kayādhu, received darśana of the Lord in their heart, still they always yearned to see the Lord in person. This proves the unsurpassed value of direct darśana, which increases one’s special ecstasy (bhāva) or pure love for the Lord (prema). The evidence for this is the incident described in the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya, in which Śrī Prahlāda felt special ecstasy when he had darśana of Śrī Bhagavān on the shore of the ocean.”