| Canto 10: The Summum Bonum | Chapter 2: Prayers by the Demigods for Lord Krishna in the Womb |
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.2.10
arcishyanti manushyās tvām
dhūpopahāra-balibhih
SYNONYMS
arcishyanti — will worship; manushyāh — human society; tvām — unto you; sarva-kāma-vara-īśvarīm — because you are the best of the demigods who can fulfill all material desires; dhūpa — by incense; upahāra — by presentations; balibhih — by different types of worship through sacrifice; sarva-kāma — of all material desires; vara — the blessings; pradām — one who can bestow.
TRANSLATION
By sacrifices of animals, ordinary human beings will worship you gorgeously, with various paraphernalia, because you are supreme in fulfilling the material desires of everyone.
PURPORT
As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (7.20), kāmais tais tair hrita jñānāh prapadyante 'nya-devatāh: "Those whose minds are distorted by material desires surrender unto demigods." Therefore the word manushya, meaning "human being," here refers to one who does not know the actual goal of life. Such a person wants to enjoy the material world by taking birth in a highly elevated family with the benefits of education, beauty and immense wealth, which in this material world are desirable. One who has forgotten the real aim of life may worship goddess Durgā, māyā-śakti, under various names, for different purposes, and in different places. As there are many holy places for the worship of Krishna, there are also many holy places in India for the worship of Durgādevī, or Māyādevī, who took birth as the daughter of Yaśodā. After cheating Kamsa, Māyādevī dispersed herself to various places, especially in Vindhyācala, to accept regular worship from ordinary men. A human being should actually be interested in understanding ātma-tattva, the truth of ātmā, the spirit soul, and Paramātmā, the supreme soul. Those who are interested in ātma-tattva worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead (yasmin vijñāte sarvam evam vijñātam bhavati). However, as explained in the next verse of this chapter, those who cannot understand ātma-tattva (apaśyatām ātma-tattvam) worship Yogamāyā in her different features. Therefore Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.1.2) says:
śrotavyādīni rājendra
"Those persons who are materially engrossed, being blind to the knowledge of ultimate truth, have many subject matters for hearing in human society, O Emperor." Those who are interested in remaining in this material world and are not interested in spiritual salvation have many duties, but for one who is interested in spiritual salvation, the only duty is to surrender fully unto Krishna (sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam śaranam vraja [Bg. 18.66]). Such a person is not interested in material enjoyment.
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