प्रतीक्षमाणस्त्वामेव नारोहेऽहं महायशः।
देवलोकमितो वीर देहं त्यक्त्वा महीतले॥
pratīkṣamāṇas tvām eva nārohe ’haṁ mahā-yaśaḥ
deva-lokam ito vīra dehaṁ tyaktvā mahī-tale
pratīkṣamāṇaḥ = [because] I have been waiting; tvām eva = for You; na = not; ārohe = in order to ascend; aham = I; mahā-yaśaḥ = of great fame; deva-lokam = to the world of the devas; itaḥ = from this world; vīra = O hero; deham = my body; tyaktvā = did give up; mahī-tale = on earth.
O hero of great fame, I did not give up my body in order to ascend to the world of the devas from this world [because] I have been waiting for You.
1 This verse appears in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa as text 3.81. Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī’s Dig-darśinī on this contains the following: japādiṣu karmasu tat-sādguṇyārtham api yasya vāsudeve manaḥ, yena śrī-kṛṣṇa-smaraṇaṁ kṛtam ity arthaḥ.
Here Sutīkṣṇa reveals that he was waiting to attain liberation from material existence.
He had waited for Rāma’s arrival. He didn’t ascend to the world of the devas because attainment of Indra’s kingdom and so on are obstacles to the attainment of liberation:
vāsudeve mano yasya japa-homārcanādiṣu
tasyāntarāyo maitreya devendratvādikaṁ phalam
“Maitreya, the post of Indra and other such results [of pious activities] are obstacles for the person who is engaged in japa, sacrifices, worship and other activities which cause his mind to remember Vāsudeva.”1 (Viṣṇu Purāṇa 2.6.43)
But how did this sage know that Lord Rāmacandra had come [to the forest]? He states that in the next text.
GLOSS. “The world of the devas” in this context is Satyaloka.
NOTE. Prabhupāda confirms that the desire to go to the worlds of the demigods is an obstacle for one who wants to go back to Godhead:
For the living entity who desires to return to Godhead, material desires are impediments. A pure devotee of the Lord is therefore not awarded the material benefits desired by less intelligent living entities, who therefore prefer to worship demigods of the material world rather than engage in the devotional service of the Supreme Lord. (Bhagavad-gītā 7.22 purport)