Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.86.2-3
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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prabhāsam
—
to Prabhāsa
Prabhāsa-kṣetra — the holy place near Dvārakā where Kṛṣṇa would later conclude His manifest pastimes. The narrative seed of separation is laid here at the start of Arjuna's romance: a tīrtha that means 'radiant,' yet bears the weight of the līlā's end.
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yatiḥ
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a sannyāsī
From √yat (to strive). A renunciant who has restrained the senses. Arjuna's adoption of yati-veśa is upāya — a means — sanctioned by Kṛṣṇa; Gauḍīyas read it as proof that outer āśrama serves bhakti, not vice versa.
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tri-daṇḍī
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carrying a triple staff
The three-staffed renunciant. The three daṇḍas signify control of body, mind and speech. Vaiṣṇava sannyāsa is tridaṇḍī (as opposed to Śaṅkarite ekadaṇḍī) — the three remain because they are offered to Bhagavān, not dissolved into brahman.
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dvārakām
—
to Dvārakā
Kṛṣṇa's island city. Etymologically 'the city of gates,' but Gauḍīyas read it as the place where many gates of līlā open — aiśvarya-rasa, the city of svakīya-prema where Kṛṣṇa is king, husband, brother. Subhadrā is born here.
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lipsuḥ
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desirous of obtaining
From √labh, in the desiderative. Names Arjuna's interior state plainly — he is in kāma, not vairāgya. Yet Kṛṣṇa later sanctions this kāma (v. 9): Gauḍīyas distinguish kāma directed at Kṛṣṇa's parikara (Subhadrā is Kṛṣṇa's sister) from kāma directed at viṣaya.
Arjuna’s plan for obtaining Subhadrā as his wife may have seemed unconventional, but he was not acting without encouragement; in fact, Lord Kṛṣṇa was his prime co-conspirator. And in Dvārakā, most of the members of the royal family, especially Vasudeva, were unhappy about giving their favorite daughter to Duryodhana.
Arjuna heard that Balarama wanted to marry his cousin Subhadra to Duryodhana. However, Vasudeva and others did not what to give her to Duryodhana.
Balarāma wanted to give Subhadrā, his material cousin, to Duryodhana. Others did not approve of this. It was considered best if Arjuna married her, since she was a maternal cousin, and it would show respect for his friendship with Kṛṣṇa. This is the custom in the south at present and elsewhere as well. Balarāma acted in this way in order that Kṛṣṇa could have some exciting pastimes. Desiring her, he disguised himself as a sannyāsī, in order to gain entrance to the palace. He appeared most respectable since he carried a tridaṇḍa which indicated his philosophical views as a Vaiṣṇava.
Arjuna is called prabhuḥ out of great respect since he was the husband of Subhadrā, and Kṛṣṇa’s friend. Or he was capable of going on pilgrimage. Arjuna (white) indicates that he performed pure activities. Since she was a maternal cousin, it was suitable for her to marry Arjuna. This was a custom at that time. Balarāma gave pleasure (rāmaḥ) to Duryodhana by teaching him how to use the club. Arjuna dressed as a sannyāsī to enter Balarāma’s house undetected, where she lived, to see her and to reveal his love to her.
Arjuna takes up the tri-daṇḍa not from renunciation but as a lover's disguise — the saffron cloth concealing a kṣatriya's fire. Like Kṛṣṇa Himself wearing the brāhmaṇa-veśa to enter Bāṇāsura's city, the outer dress is bent toward the inner mission Bhagavān has already sanctioned.
Caitanya Mahāprabhu wore the daṇḍa of a tridaṇḍī sannyāsī, but Gauḍīyas know His ekadaṇḍa was internally a tridaṇḍa — vāk-deha-manas all surrendered to Kṛṣṇa-sevā. The outer staff is symbolic; the real renunciation is anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyatā.
Arjuna's tridaṇḍa here is the inverse pattern — outer austerity, inner kāma — but with Kṛṣṇa's sanction (verse 9) it becomes legitimate because the kāma is for Subhadrā, who is svayam yogyā for him.
My note
Source: vedabase.io