Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.74.23
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
-
kṛṣṇāya
—
to Lord Kṛṣṇa
Dative — the case of giving. Sahadeva does not say 'Bhagavān' or 'Viṣṇu' in this dative slot; he says Kṛṣṇa. Gauḍīyas: kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam — the personal Name is the proper recipient of the agra-pūjā.
-
parama - arhaṇam
—
the greatest honor
Compound: parama (highest) + arhaṇa (worship). The verse-cluster's keyword finally gets its superlative. Whatever first-honor means, this is its limit.
-
sarva - bhūtānām
—
of all living beings
Sarva (all) + bhūtānām (of beings). The egalitarian payoff: honoring Kṛṣṇa first is not parochial — it is the one act that touches every jīva.
-
ātmanaḥ
—
of oneself
Genitive of ātman. And one's own self is honored too. Gauḍīyas: the soul's actual flourishing is in being a servant; pūjā of the Master is the soul's own banquet.
He concludes in this verse. He is all beings or the best of all (mahate). No one will have any objection.
The highest worship should be given to him, because he is the best (mahate), as described, because he is directly the supreme Lord (kṛṣṇāya). If everyone worships him, worship of all beings is accomplished, even of oneself. Therefore no one should oppose this.
- Where do I treat worship and service as competing goods?
- How does honoring Kṛṣṇa first quietly multiply respect for those around me?
Water poured at the root reaches every leaf. Worship offered to Kṛṣṇa, mahate, automatically arrives at every living being and even at oneself — because every living being and oneself are leaves on His tree.
The Bhāgavatam's stock simile (4.31.14, repeated in Caitanya-caritāmṛta) is the gardener who waters the root and not the leaves. Sahadeva is making the same case here in the language of agra-pūjā.
Gauḍīya use is famous: pūjā of Kṛṣṇa is not exclusion of others; it is the only way the others are actually served. Honor the root; the leaves drink.
My note
Source: vedabase.io