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Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.12.34
tato 'tihrishtāh sva-krito 'kritārhanam
pushpaih sugā apsarasaś ca nartanaih
gītaih surā vādya-dharāś ca vādyakaih
stavaiś ca viprā jaya-nihsvanair ganāh
SYNONYMS
tatah — thereafter; ati-hrishtāh — everyone becoming very much pleased; sva-kritah — own respective duty; akrita — executed; arhanam — in the shape of worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead; pushpaih — by showering flowers grown in Nandana-kānana from the heavens; su-gāh — the celestial singers; apsarasah ca — and the celestial dancing girls; nartanaih — by dancing; gītaih — by singing celestial songs; surāh — all the demigods; vādya-dharāh ca — those who played on musical drums; vādyakaih — by playing respectively; stavaih ca — and by offering prayers; viprāh — the brāhmanas; jaya-nihsvanaih — simply by glorifying the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ganāh — everyone.
TRANSLATION
Thereafter, everyone being pleased, the demigods began to shower flowers from Nandana-kānana, the celestial dancing girls began to dance, and the Gandharvas, who are famous for singing, offered songs of prayer. The drummers began to beat their kettledrums, and the brāhmanas offered Vedic hymns. In this way, both in the heavens and on earth, everyone began to perform his own duties, glorifying the Lord.
PURPORT
Everyone has some particular duty. The śāstra has concluded (nirūpitah) that everyone should glorify the Supreme Personality of Godhead by his own qualifications. If you are a singer, always glorify the Supreme Lord by singing very nicely. If you are a musician, glorify the Supreme Lord by playing musical instruments. Svanushthitasya dharmasya samsiddhir hari-toshanam (Bhāg. 1.2.13). The perfection of life is to satisfy the Personality of Godhead. Therefore, beginning from this earth up to the celestial kingdom, everyone engaged in glorifying the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The decision of all great saintly persons is that whatever qualifications one has acquired should be utilized to glorify the Supreme Lord.
idam hi pumsas tapasah śrutasya vā
svishtasya sūktasya ca buddhi-dattayoh
avicyuto 'rthah kavibhir nirūpito
yad uttamaśloka-gunānuvarnanam
"Learned sages have definitely concluded that the infallible purpose of the advancement of knowledge, austerity, Vedic study, sacrifice, the chanting of hymns, and charity is found in the transcendental descriptions of the qualities of the Lord, who is defined in choice poetry." (Bhāg. 1.5.22) This is the perfection of life. One should be trained how to glorify the Supreme Personality of Godhead by one's respective qualities. Education, austerity, penance or, in the modern world, business, industry, education and so on — all should be engaged in glorifying the Lord. Then everyone in the world will be happy.
Krishna comes, therefore, to exhibit His transcendental activities so that people may have the chance to glorify Him in every respect. To understand how to glorify the Lord is actual research work. It is not that everything should be understood without God. That is condemned.
aprānasyaiva dehasya
Without bhagavad-bhakti, without glorification of the Supreme Lord, whatever we have is simply a decoration of the dead body.
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
His Holiness Hrdayananda dasa Goswami
Gopiparanadhana dasa Adhikari
Dravida dasa Brahmacari