FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Bhagavad-gītā 3.13

यज्ञशिष्टाशिनः सन्तो मुच्यन्ते सर्वकिल्बिषै । भुञ्जते ते त्वघं पापा ये पचन्त्यात्मकारणात् ॥ १३ ॥
yajña-śiṣṭāśinaḥ santo
[yajna-shishtaashinah santo]
mucyante sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ
[muchyante sarva-kilbishaih]
bhuñjate te tv aghaṁ pāpā
[bhunjate te tv agham paapaa]
ye pacanty ātma-kāraṇāt
[ye pachanty aatma-kaaranaat]
Word-for-word
yajña - śiṣṭa — of food taken after performance of yajña aśinaḥ — eaters santaḥ — the devotees mucyante — get relief sarva — all kinds of kilbiṣaiḥ — from sins bhuñjate — enjoy te — they tu — but agham — grievous sins pāpāḥ — sinners ye — who pacanti — prepare food ātma - kāraṇāt — for sense enjoyment .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
yajña-śiṣṭāśinaḥ santo
yajña - śiṣṭa
of food taken after performance of yajña
aśinaḥ
eaters
santaḥ
the devotees
mucyante sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ
mucyante
get relief
sarva
all kinds of
kilbiṣaiḥ
from sins
bhuñjate te tv aghaṁ pāpā
bhuñjate
enjoy
te
they
tu
but
agham
grievous sins
pāpāḥ
sinners
ye pacanty ātma-kāraṇāt
ye
who
pacanti
prepare food
ātma - kāraṇāt
for sense enjoyment .
Important Words
  • yajña - śiṣṭa — of food taken after performance of yajña
    Compound: yajña + śiṣṭa (remainder). The technical term for prasāda in its Vedic register — what remains after the offering has been made. Eating remainders is the holiest meal.
  • santaḥ — the devotees, the saintly
    Present participle of √as, to be — those who *are*, who exist truly. Sat names what is real; santaḥ are those who live aligned with the real. The eaters of prasāda are by definition the real ones.
  • mucyante — get relief, are released
    Passive of √muc. They do not release *themselves* — they *are released*. The food does the work. The verse credits the grace embedded in the offered food, not the eater's effort.
  • agham — grievous sins
    A heavier word than pāpa — agha is the very category of evil. Those who cook for their own sense-enjoyment eat *agham*, not merely accumulate it. The food itself becomes the sin.
  • ātma - kāraṇāt — for sense enjoyment, for one's own sake
    Compound, ablative. The single word that distinguishes prasāda from sin-food: for whose sake was it cooked. The act is the same; the orientation reverses the consequence.
The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food which is offered first for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin.
Classical Sanskrit analysis शास्त्रीय विश्लेषण
How Sanskrit scholars read this verse — split, rearranged, grammar-tagged. For the plain English distilled meaning, jump to Plain meaning below.
Auto-generated study layers — original analysis of the public-domain śloka. Review against a published edition for academic work.
Plain meaning (तात्पर्य · Tātparya)
The kitchen becomes a moral test. Food first offered and then consumed as prasāda purifies; food cooked purely for self-gratification carries sin into the very act of eating. Daily life is sacralized through the gesture of offering.
Further notes (विवरण · Vivaraṇa)
'Yajña-śiṣṭa' refers to the remnants of the offering — what becomes prasāda. The verse extends 3.12's thief metaphor to the daily meal: even ordinary nutrition is karmically charged. Compare BG 17.13 (food not offered is tāmasic) and BG 9.27 (offer whatever you eat to Me).
Prose order (अन्वय · Anvaya)
यज्ञ-शिष्ट-अशिनः सन्तः सर्व-किल्बिषैः मुच्यन्ते; ये तु आत्म-कारणात् पचन्ति, ते पापाः अघम् भुञ्जते।
yajña-śiṣṭa-aśinaḥ santaḥ sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ mucyante; ye tu ātma-kāraṇāt pacanti, te pāpāḥ agham bhuñjate|
The good, eating the remnants of yajña, are freed from all sins; but those sinful ones who cook for their own sake eat only sin.
Word split (पदच्छेद · Padaccheda)
यज्ञ-शिष्ट-अशिनः सन्तः मुच्यन्ते सर्व-किल्बिषैः । भुञ्जते ते तु अघम् पापाः ये पचन्ति आत्म-कारणात् ॥
yajña-śiṣṭa-aśinaḥ santaḥ mucyante sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ | bhuñjate te tu agham pāpāḥ ye pacanti ātma-kāraṇāt ||
Grammar (व्याकरण · Vyākaraṇa)
SanskritIASTGrammarMeaning
यज्ञ-शिष्ट-अशिनः yajña-śiṣṭa-aśinaḥ यज्ञ + शिष्ट (p.p.p. (past passive participle)) + अशिन् nom.pl. (nominative plural)m., tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) eaters of yajña-remnants
सन्तः santaḥ √अस् pres. (present)act.part. → सन्त् nom.pl. (nominative plural)m. the good, sādhus
मुच्यन्ते mucyante √मुच् pass. (passive) pres. (present) 3pl. are freed
सर्व-किल्बिषैः sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ सर्व + किल्बिष (n.) ins.pl. (instrumental plural), karmadhāraya from all sins
भुञ्जते bhuñjate √भुज् pres. (present) 3pl.ātm. (ātmanepada / middle voice) they eat
ते te dem. (demonstrative) pron. (pronoun) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m. they
तु tu ind. (indeclinable), contrastive but
अघम् agham अघ (n.) acc.sg. (accusative singular) sin, evil
पापाः pāpāḥ पाप (adj.) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m. the sinful
ये ye rel. pron. (pronoun) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m. who
पचन्ति pacanti √पच् pres. (present) 3pl.par. (parasmaipada / active voice) cook
आत्म-कारणात् ātma-kāraṇāt आत्मन् + कारण abl.sg. (ablative singular), tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) for one's own sake
Purport

The devotees of the Supreme Lord, or the persons who are in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, are called santas, and they are always in love with the Lord as it is described in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.38) : premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti. The santas, being always in a compact of love with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda (the giver of all pleasures), or Mukunda (the giver of liberation), or Kṛṣṇa (the all-attractive person), cannot accept anything without first offering it to the Supreme Person. Therefore, such devotees always perform yajñas in different modes of devotional service, such as śravaṇam, kīrtanam, smaraṇam, arcanam, etc., and these performances of yajñas keep them always aloof from all kinds of contamination of sinful association in the material world. Others, who prepare food for self or sense gratification, are not only thieves but also the eaters of all kinds of sins. How can a person be happy if he is both a thief and sinful? It is not possible. Therefore, in order for people to become happy in all respects, they must be taught to perform the easy process of saṅkīrtana-yajña, in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Otherwise, there can be no peace or happiness in the world.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
13. Those respectable people who eat the remnants of sacrifice are free from all sins. Those sinful persons who cook for themselves suffer from sin.
Commentary

Those who eat the food remnants of yajñas such as the vaiśvadeva-yajña [Note: Usually at noon time small qualities of food are supposed to be offered to various devatās and to Agni.] become freed from all sins caused by the five types of violence to living entities. The five violent actions (pañca-sūnā) are described in the smṛti: kaṇḍanī peṣaṇī cullī udakumbhī ca mārjanī pañca-sūnā gṛhasthasya tābhiḥ svargaṁ na vindati The gṛhastha does not enjoy Svarga by commission of the five violent actions towards other living entities caused by using the mortar, grinding stone, the stove, the broom and water pot. Viṣṇu Smṛti 59. 19-20 [Note: The items are mentioned there, but with slight variation in the text. Also found in Manu Smṛti, and Saṅkha Smṛti.]

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
13. Those respectable people who eat the remnants of sacrifice are free from all sins. Those sinful persons who cook for themselves suffer from sin.
Commentary

Those devotees (santaḥ) of the personification of sacrifice (yajña), devotees of the Lord of all, who, after worshipping the Lord of all, Viṣṇu or Yajña, whose limbs are the devas, then take the remnants to maintain their bodies, are free from all sins piled up from beginningless time (sarva kilbiṣaiḥ), which have created an obstacle to realization of ātmā. But those sinful people who cook only for their own nourishment (ātma kāraṇāt) food which is given by the Lord of sacrifice for His worship (within Whom are situated the devatas as his limbs), enjoy only sin (agham). The food such as rice which they cook is transformed into sin itself. Thus it is said that they eat only sin.

Study Notes — Gauranga Priya Dāsa
Gauranga Priya Dāsa Study
Bhakti-śāstrī Notes, ISKCON Chowpatty (2009)
Theme

Devotees get freed from all sins, because they eat food which is first offered in sacrifice and thus they

experience real peace and happiness

Those who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin

PLEASE NOTE: Refer to the Summarized Theme 3B “Cycle of Sacrifice” diagram below (After Text 3.15) which covers

the translation of Texts 3.14 – 3.15

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
3.13 Those again, who are yajna-sista-asinah, partakers of the remnants of sacrifices, who, after making offering to the gods and others, [The panca-maha-yajnas, five great offerings, which have to be made by every householder are offerings to gods, manes, humans, creatures and rsis (sages).] are habituated to eat the remnants (of those offerings), called nectar; they, santah, by being (so); mucyante, become freed; sarva-kilbisaih, from all sins-from those sins incurred through the five things [the five things are; oven, water-pot, cutting instruments, grinding machines and broom. A householder incurs sin by killing insects etc. with these things, knowingly or unknowingly. It is atoned by making the aforesaid five offerings.], viz oven etc., and also from those others incurred owing to injury etc. caused inadvertently. Tu, but; the papah, unholy persons, who are selfish; ye, who; pacanti, cook; atma-karanat, for themselves; te, they, being themselves sinful; bhunjate, incur; agham, sin. For the following reasons also actions should be undertaken by an eligible person. Action is definitely the cause of the movement of the wheel of the world. How? This is being answered:
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
3.13 Those persons who acire food materials solely for propitiating the Supreme Person abiding as the Self of Indra and other deities, and who, after cooking them, propitiate, through them, the Supreme Person as He is, and then sustain themselves on the remnants of oblations (made for such propitiation), they alone will be free of impurities which have resulted from beginningless evil and which are inimical to the vision of the self. But they are evil-minded, who acire for selfish use the things which the Supreme Being, abiding as the Self of Indra and other deities, has granted them for worshipping Him with, and use it all on the other hand for feeding themselves - they eat only sin. Turning away from the vision of the self, they cook only for being led to Naraka (for the expiation of the sin incurred thery). Sri Krsna says that, from the standpoint of the world as well as that of the scriptures, everything has its origin in sacrifice; and He speaks of the need for the performance of the sacrifices and of the blemish in not performing the same:
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
3.13 Yajnasista-etc. Those who enjoy the pleasures of obects that have come to them on the authority of laws enjoining what is to be necessarily performed; and who enjoy them viewing [the enjoyment] only as a secondary (or intermediate) action and conseently as a subsidiary having no separate purpose; and again those who enjoy the remnant of the necessary action in the form of gratifying the group of the devas of the snese-organs-that residue of food marked with bliss in being firmly established in their own Self - that is to say, those who have mounted upon the Self and are desirous of enjoying objects only as a means to achieve this end - they are freed from all faults of good and bad. Those, who for their own selves etc. : On the other hand, those who believe, under the influence of ignorance, the sheer superficial enjoyment of objects as their final goal, and act with the notion 'We perform this [act] for the sake of ourselves' - those persons alone gain the sin in the form of good and bad.
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
3.13 The righteous who eat the remnants of the sacrifice are freed from all sins; but those sinful ones who cook food (only) for their own sake verily eat sin.
Commentary

3.13 यज्ञशिष्टाशिनः who eat the remnants of the sacrifice? सन्तः the righteous? मुच्यन्ते are freed? सर्वकिल्बिषैः from all sins? भुञ्जते eat? ते those? तु indeed? अघम् sin? पापाः sinful ones? ये who? पचन्ति cook? आत्मकारणात् for their own sake.Commentary Those who? after performing the five great sacrifices? eat the remnants of the food are freed from all the sins committed by these five agents of insect slaughter? viz.? (1) the pestle and mortar? (2) the grinding stone? (3) the fireplace? (4) the place where the waterpot is kept? and (5) the broom. These are the five places where injury to life is daily committed. The sins are washed away by the performance of the five MahaYajnas or great sacrifices which every Dvija(twicorn or the people belonging to the first three castes in Hindu society? especially the Brahmin) ought to perform1. DevaYajna Offering sacrifices to the gods which will satisfy them?2. BrahmaYajna or RishiYajna Teaching and reciting the scriptures which will satisfy Brahman and the Rishis?3. PitriYajna Offering libations of water to ones ancestors which will satisfy the manes?4. NriYajna The feeding of the hungry and the guests? and?5. BhutaYajna The feeding of the subhuman species? such as animals? birds? etc.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
3.13 By becoming partakers of the remembers of sacrifices, they become freed from all sins. But the unholy persons who cook for themselves, they incur sin.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
3.13 The sages who enjoy the food that remains after the sacrifice is made are freed from all sin; but the selfish who spread their feast only for themselves feed on sin only.
Related values & verses
Related values
Kshama (Forgiveness / Patience)Shraddha (Faith / Reverence)Svadhyaya (Self-study & Scripture Study)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Guru Bhakti (Reverence for Teacher)
Related verses
BG 9.26 BG 17.13 BG 6.17 SB 1.13.10 SB 10.23.5 SB 7.15.7 CC Antya 6.313 CC Madhya 3.99 CC Antya 16.87 Taittirīya Upaniṣad 3.10.1BRS 1.2.104
Study Q&A referencing this verse
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Devotees who eat prasāda (food offered first to Kṛṣṇa) are freed from sins; those who eat for themselves alone eat sin.
Practical Applications
  • Establish a deity (even simple) at home and offer all food before eating.
  • When you eat out, mentally offer what you can.
  • Take prasāda with reverence — it is mercy, not just nutrition.
Reflection Questions
  • What does it mean for my food to become Kṛṣṇa's mercy rather than just sustenance?
  • Where is my eating still mechanical rather than sacramental?
Analogy

Food unoffered is uncooked food — it still has to be paid for by the consequence. Food offered is cooked twice: once on the stove and once on the altar. Only the twice-cooked nourishes the soul.

Stories
Ambarīṣa Breaks His Fast on Tulasī

Mahārāja Ambarīṣa observed the Dvādaśī fast every fortnight, breaking it only after offering food to Kṛṣṇa and feeding brāhmaṇas. Once Durvāsā arrived to be fed, then went to bathe and delayed; the auspicious moment to break the fast was about to pass. On the advice of brāhmaṇas, Ambarīṣa sipped only a leaf of tulasī-water — token prasāda — to honor both vows.

Durvāsā, returning, took offense and produced a demon-fire to consume him; the cakra cut it down and chased Durvāsā across the worlds. The verse is Ambarīṣa's whole life: he ate only prasāda, and the cosmos guarded him. Those who eat for themselves — even the powerful Durvāsā in that moment — eat sin.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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