Verse 2.2.174

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.2.174:

विचाराचातुरी-रम्यो मोक्षोऽयम् अवधर्यताम् ।
तेषां वेद-पुराणादि-शास्त्राणां हि यथा-मतम् ॥ १७४ ॥

vicārācāturī-ramyo mokṣo'yam avadharyatām |
teṣāṃ veda-purāṇādi-śāstrāṇāṃ hi yathā-matam || 174 ||

vicāra–in discrimination; acāturī–to those who are inexpert; ramyaḥ–charming; mokṣaḥ–liberation; ayam–this; avadhāryatām–should be understood; teṣām–of them; veda-purāṇa–of the Vedas and Purāṇas; ādi-śāstrāṇām–and other śāstras; hi–indeed; yathā–according; matam–to the opinion.

Factually, only those without discriminating intelligence find liberation enchanting. If one considers this subject from any point of view, the attractiveness of liberation cannot be substantiated. This is the determination of the Vedas, Itihāsas, Purāṇas, and all other scriptures, and it is what we are explaining to you.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

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

Śrī Gopa-kumāra might wonder, “But why do yogīs undergo so much endeavor to attain liberation?”

In response, the bhakti-śāstras speak this verse beginning with vicāra. They say, “This is only because they lack discrimination (vicāra acāturī). From any point of view, when one actually examines mokṣa, it has no charm. When the seekers of liberation establish it as the ultimate goal of human life, this is only their own conjecture.”

Gopa-kumāra might question, “But what is the evidence for this?” The bhakti-śāstras reply with the line beginning with teṣām. They say, “Now, we will display the beauty of the facts conceptually established and proven (vicāra cāturī) by the Vedas, Itihāsas, Purāṇas, and others. In other words, we will speak the substance of the opinions we have collected from all other scriptures.”