Copyright © r The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
| Chapter 9: The Most Confidential Knowledge |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 9.20
trai-vidyā mām soma-pāh pūta-pāpā
yajñair ishtvā svar-gatim prārthayante
te punyam āsādya surendra-lokam
aśnanti divyān divi deva-bhogān
SYNONYMS
trai-vidyāh — the knowers of the three Vedas; mām — Me; soma-pāh — drinkers of soma juice; pūta — purified; pāpāh — of sins; yajñaih — with sacrifices; ishtvā — worshiping; svah-gatim — passage to heaven; prārthayante — pray for; te — they; punyam — pious; āsādya — attaining; sura-indra — of Indra; lokam — the world; aśnanti — enjoy; divyān — celestial; divi — in heaven; deva-bhogān — the pleasures of the gods.
TRANSLATION
Those who study the Vedas and drink the soma juice, seeking the heavenly planets, worship Me indirectly. Purified of sinful reactions, they take birth on the pious, heavenly planet of Indra, where they enjoy godly delights.
PURPORT
The word trai-vidyāh refers to the three Vedas — Sāma, Yajur and Rig. A brāhmana who has studied these three Vedas is called a tri-vedī. Anyone who is very much attached to knowledge derived from these three Vedas is respected in society. Unfortunately, there are many great scholars of the Vedas who do not know the ultimate purport of studying them. Therefore Krishna herein declares Himself to be the ultimate goal for the tri-vedīs. Actual tri-vedīs take shelter under the lotus feet of Krishna and engage in pure devotional service to satisfy the Lord. Devotional service begins with the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra and side by side trying to understand Krishna in truth. Unfortunately those who are simply official students of the Vedas become more interested in offering sacrifices to the different demigods like Indra and Candra. By such endeavor, the worshipers of different demigods are certainly purified of the contamination of the lower qualities of nature and are thereby elevated to the higher planetary systems or heavenly planets known as Maharloka, Janoloka, Tapoloka, etc. Once situated on those higher planetary systems, one can satisfy his senses hundreds of thousands of times better than on this planet.
Copyright © r The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness