Verse 2.4.172

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 2.4.172:

एवं धरण्य् अपि ज्ञेया पराश् च भगवत्-प्रियाः ।
तथैव भगवच्-छक्तिर् अपि सा ज्ञायतां त्वया ॥ १७२ ॥

evaṃ dharaṇy api jñeyā parāś ca bhagavat-priyāḥ |
tathaiva bhagavac-chaktir api sā jñāyatāṃ tvayā || 172 ||

evam–thus; dharaṇī–the goddess of the earth; api–also; jñeyā–is understood; parāḥ–others; ca–and; bhagavat-priyāḥ–dear to the Lord; tathā–so; eva–also; bhagavat-śaktiḥ–the potency of the Lord; api–also; sā–she; jñāyatām–should be known; tvayā–by you.

Just as Mahā-Lakṣmī is Bhagavān’s beloved, so is Dharaṇī-devī. One should understand that this is so for all the śaktis of the Lord.

Commentary: Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā with Bhāvānuvāda

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

The course of this discussion has brought Śrī Nārada to speak about Bhagavān’s other beloveds in this verse beginning with evam. He says, “Just as Śrī Mahā-Lakṣmī is the beloved of Bhagavān, so is Dharaṇī-devī His beloved consort, and she is also the embodiment of eternity, knowledge, and bliss. The Lord’s most beloved sac-cid-ānanda Śrī Mahā-Lakṣmī eternally resides close to Śrī Vaikuṇṭha-nātha. All other potencies (śaktis) that one hears about are incarnations of Mahā-Lakṣmī only.”

Similarly, it should be understood that Lord Śiva’s consort, Durgā, and her variegated pastime expansions, like the goddess Cāmuṇḍā, the consort of Bhairava, are also the śaktis of Bhagavān.