Verse 2.2.27

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.2.27:

स्वयं तस्याः प्रभावेन स्वाराज्येऽपि यथा पुरा ।
सदाकिञ्चन-रूपोऽहं न्यवसं नन्दने वने ॥ २७ ॥

svayaṃ tasyāḥ prabhāvena svārājye'pi yathā purā |
sadākiñcana-rūpo'haṃ nyavasaṃ nandane vane || 27 ||

svayam–personally; tasyāḥ–of that (bhakti); prabhāveṇa–by the potency; svārājye–in my own kingdom; api–although; yathā–as; purā–before; sadā–always; akiñcana-rūpaḥ–in the manner of an unattached mendicant; aham–I; nyavasan–dwelling; nandane vane–in the Nandana forest.

In the past, when I received the kingdom [see Chapter One], I disregarded worldly possessions due to the potency of bhakti. Similarly, although I was now established on the royal throne, I did not reside in Indra’s capital, but rather chose to live like a renunciant in the Nandana forest.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

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

The brāhmaṇa might ask, “Considering that pride comes automatically with being a king, how is it possible to remain happy?”

To address this doubt, Śrī Gopa-kumāra speaks this verse beginning with svayam. He says, “Although I was enthroned on the seat of Indra, by the influence of bhakti, I was as detached from material possessions (akiñcana) as before. Ever indifferent to all types of false ego, I chose not to reside in the royal palace in Amarāvatī, a city devoted to pleasure. Disregarding the sessions in the Sudharmā assembly hall, I remained exclusively in the Nandana forest.”