Canto 11: General HistoryChapter 17: Lord Kṛṣṇa's Description of the Varṇāśrama System

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.17.50

vedādhyāya-svadhā-svāhā-

baly-annādyair yathodayam

devarṣi-pitṛ-bhūtāni

mad-rūpāṇy anv-ahaḿ yajet

SYNONYMS

veda-adhyāya — by study of Vedic knowledge; svadhā — by offering the mantra svadhā; svāhā — by offering the mantra svāhā; bali — by token offerings of food; anna-ādyaiḥ — by offering grains, water, etc.; yathā — according to; udayam — one's prosperity; deva — the demigods; ṛṣi — sages; pitṛ — the forefathers; bhūtāni — and all living entities; mat-rūpāṇi — manifestations of My potency; anu-aham — daily; yajet — one should worship.

TRANSLATION

One in the gṛhastha order of life should daily worship the sages by Vedic study, the forefathers by offering the mantra svadhā, the demigods by chanting svāhā, all living entities by offering shares of one's meals, and human beings by offering grains and water. Thus considering the demigods, sages, forefathers, living entities and human beings to be manifestations of My potency, one should daily perform these five sacrifices.

PURPORT

The Lord again discusses the duties of those in the household order of life. Obviously, the five ritualistic daily sacrifices mentioned here are meant for those who are not pure devotees of the Lord and who thus have to counteract their exploitation of material nature by the abovementioned sacrifices. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is training householders, sannyāsīs, brahmacārīs and vānaprasthas to engage twenty-four hours a day in the loving service of the Lord. Those who are full-time missionary workers in ISKCON have no further obligations or sacrifices to perform, as confirmed in the Eleventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.41):

devarṣi-bhūtāpta-nṛṇāḿ pitṝṇāḿ

na kińkaro nāyam ṛṇī ca rājan

sarvātmanā yaḥ śaraṇaḿ śaraṇyaḿ

gato mukundaḿ parihṛtya kartam

"Anyone who has taken shelter at the lotus feet of Mukunda, the giver of liberation, giving up all kinds of obligation, and has taken to the path in all seriousness, owes neither duties nor obligations to the demigods, sages, general living entities, family members, humankind or forefathers."

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
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