न देवलोकाक्रमणं नामरत्वमहं वृणे।
ऐश्वर्यं वापि लोकानां कामये न त्वया विना॥
na deva-lokākramaṇaṁ nāmaratvam ahaṁ vṛṇe
aiśvaryaṁ vāpi lokānāṁ kāmaye na tvayā vinā
na = neither; deva-loka-ākramaṇam = in approaching the kingdom of God; na = nor; amaratvam = in absolute freedom from death; aham = I; vṛṇe = am interested in; aiśvaryam = the opulence; vā api = even; lokānām = of the worlds; kāmaye = I do desire; na = not; tvayā = You; vinā = without.
I am neither interested in approaching the kingdom of God nor in absolute freedom from death. I do not desire even the opulence of the worlds without You.
1 What to speak of impersonal liberation, Lakṣmaṇa is not even interested in personal liberation if it is devoid of service to the Lord.
2 See the note to Rāmāyaṇa 1.1.6.
3 Because it contradicts the overall position of the scriptures on Lakṣmaṇa and because in this very verse, Lakṣmaṇa explicitly states that he is not interested in attaining the opulence of the worlds which certainly includes the world of the devas.
4 In the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava line, we refer to this type of liberation as impersonalistic liberation.
And just as He wants to exclusively engage in the Lord’s service, He is exclusively desirous [of pleasing the Lord]. Deva-loka here refers to the spiritual world of Vaikuṇṭha: devānāṁ pūr ayodhyā (Atharva Veda 10.2.31). This indicates that Lakṣmaṇa has no desire for the state of liberation in Vaikuṇṭha if it is devoid of service to Lord Rāma.1 Amaratvam here refers to becoming isolated from material existence as discussed in Bhagavad-gītā 7.29 and this indicates that Lakṣmaṇa has no desire. Aiśvaryaṁ vāpi lokānām indicates that He has no desire to become the overlord of the three worlds, that is, becoming Lord Brahmā.2 Since Lakṣmaṇa has no desire for even liberation in Vaikuṇṭha, how can he desire mere isolation from material existence and so on?
Some have interpreted deva-lokākramaṇam to mean “I am not interested in go to Devaloka to become a deva or Indra.” This is a useless interpretation.3
NOTE. According to Rāmānujācārya, Bhagavad-gītā 7.29 has a particular meaning. The verse and a translation based on Rāmānujācārya’s commentary is as follows.
jarā-maraṇa-mokṣāya mām āśritya yatanti ye
te brahma tad viduḥ kṛtsnam adhyātmaṁ karma cākhilam
“Those who take shelter of Me and endeavor to attain freedom from old age and death, that is, self-realization in isolation from material nature know that Brahman, the nature of spirituality fully and everything about karma.”4
According to Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa, Bhagavad-gītā text catur-vidhā bhajante mām (7.16) refers to three types of materialistic devotees of the Lord as well as the pure devotees of the Lord; thus, four categories of devotees are dealt with in that verse. This verse of the Bhagavad-gītā (7.29) deals with a fifth category of devotees—those who desire freedom from old age and death.