Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.74.18
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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agrya
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first
From agra — foremost, the tip. Agra-pūjā is the technical term for the first worship in a Vedic assembly. The Bhāgavatam will use this chapter to argue that 'first' has only one ultimate referent.
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arhaṇa
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worship, honoring
From √arh (to deserve). Pūjā framed as response to deserving. The word recurs through verses 18–26 like a refrain, each time orbiting closer to Kṛṣṇa.
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vimṛśantaḥ
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pondering over
Present participle of vi + √mṛś (to weigh, consider). The assembly is doing vicāra — proper deliberation. The Bhāgavatam respects the process; it is the deliberation, not a hasty enthusiasm, that produces the right answer.
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sahadevaḥ
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Sahadeva
Saha (with) + deva (god) — 'god-companion'. The youngest Pāṇḍava, known for jyotiṣa-vidyā and quiet wisdom. Gauḍīyas note that the youngest, not the eldest, names Kṛṣṇa first — the order of bhakti is not the order of seniority.
Śrīla Prabhupāda writes: “Another important procedure is that the most exalted personality in the assembly of such a sacrificial ceremony is first offered worship.… This particular ceremony is called agra-pūjā. Agra means ‘first,’ and pūjā means ‘worship.’ This agra-pūjā is similar to the election of a president. In the sacrificial assembly, all the members were very exalted. Some proposed to elect one person as the perfect candidate for accepting agra-pūjā, and others proposed someone else. As the great ācārya Jīva Gosvāmī points out, text 15 of this chapter states that the members of the assembly were not astonished at the opulence of the sacrifice, since they knew that King Yudhiṣṭhira was a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Still, text 18 now states that the assembly could not select the most deserving candidate for being worshiped first. This indicates that many of the brāhmaṇas present were not fully realized transcendentalists but rather conventional brāhmaṇas uncertain of the supreme conclusion of Vedic wisdom. Similarly, Ācārya Viśvanātha comments that the undecided members of the assembly were the less intelligent ones, and not such exalted personalities as Brahmā, Śiva and Dvaipāyana Vyāsadeva, who thought, “Since today no one is asking our opinion, why should we say anything? Furthermore, here is Sahadeva, who is renowned for his sharp skill in analyzing all sorts of circumstances. He can help appoint the person who is to be worshiped first. Only if he somehow fails to speak or cannot understand the situation will we speak up, despite no one’s having inquired from us.” Having made up their minds in this way, the greatest personalities remained silent. This is how Viśvanātha Cakravartī advises us to understand what occurred in the assembly.
Among the assembled persons those in the assembly who were less intelligent could not decide who should be selected as the first to be worshipped because of yhe presence of many qualified persons. This however was not true of the highly intelligent persons such as Brahma, Vyasa and others. "Since we were not asked, how could we say? Sahadeva, who was well known for being wise in examining everything, is authorized for worship. If he does not speak or does not know what to say, even if not asked, we will say." Considering in this way they remained silent.
Though they were most intelligent and considered carefully they could not decide on who should be worshipped first since there were many great persons present. The foolish people had many doubts in their minds and could not decide. The wise people had disagreements because of various opinions, with persons like Śiśupāla in the assembly. Kṛṣṇa had the desire to wash everyone’s feet. Sahadeva then spoke. Later it is mentioned that Sahadeva worshipped the guests (SB 10.75.4). Thus he spoke up because of qualification, and also because of devotion to Kṛṣṇa.
Though they were most intelligent and considered carefully, they could not decide on who should be worshipped first, since there were many great persons present. Sahadeva, who always exists with (saha) Kṛṣṇa (deva) in his heart, then spoke. This indicates that he was a great devotee.
- Where could I be the one who breaks a stuck deliberation by naming what is obvious?
- What courage to speak first do I keep deferring?
A panel of judges in a room full of laureates cannot decide whom to crown first — every candidate is the senior of someone present. The agra-pūjā question stalls because Vedic society has many summits; only Sahadeva will name the one summit above all summits.
My note
Source: vedabase.io