Verse 2.4.206

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.4.206:

तच् छ्रूत्वोक्तं प्रभोः पूजा-मार्गादि-गुरुणामुना ।
उत्थाय परमानन्दान् माम् आश्लिष्येदम् उत्तरम् ॥ २०६ ॥

tac chrūtvoktaṃ prabhoḥ pūjā-mārgādi-guruṇāmunā |
utthāya paramānandān mām āśliṣyedam uttaram || 206 ||

tat–that; śrutvā–having heard; uktam–statement; prabhoḥ–of the Deity; pūjā–of worship; mārga–of the path; ādi–and so forth; guruṇā–by the preceptor; amunā–by that; utthāya–having arisen; parama-ānandāt–out of transcendental bliss; mām–me; āśliṣya–embracing; idam–this; uttaram–answer.

Hearing this, Śrī Nārada Muni, the original guru of the path of pūjā of Śrī Bhagavān, stood up, joyfully embraced me, and began to reply.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

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

Śrī Gopa-kumāra says, “After hearing my question, Śrī Nārada stood up, embraced me in great happiness and began to reply. The reason for this is that Śrī Nārada initiated the pañcarātra system of Deity worship; thus, he is the original guru of the path of worship of Bhagavān (pūjā-mārga).” Alternatively, the word mārga (path) comes from the verb mṛgyate, which means ‘to strive after.’ In this sense, the verse is saying that Deity worship is the goal to be attained by everyone. And Śrī Nārada is the first preceptor of this path.