FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.3.8

धर्मार्थ उत्तमश्लोकं तन्तु: तन्वन् पितृन् यजेत् । रक्षाकाम: पुण्यजनानोजस्कामो मरुद्गणान् ॥ ८ ॥
dharmārtha uttama-ślokaṁ
[dharmaartha uttama-shlokam]
tantuḥ tanvan pitṝn yajet
[tantuh tanvan pitreen yajet]
rakṣā-kāmaḥ puṇya-janān
[rakshaa-kaamah punya-janaan]
ojas-kāmo marud-gaṇān
[ojas-kaamo marud-ganaan]
dharma-arthaḥ — for spiritual advancement uttama-ślokam — the Supreme Lord or persons attached to the Supreme Lord tantuḥ — for offspring tanvan — and for their protection pitṝn — the residents of Pitṛloka yajet — must worship rakṣā-kāmaḥ — one who desires protection puṇya-janān — pious persons ojaḥ-kāmaḥ — one who desires strength should worship marut-gaṇān — the demigods.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
dharmārtha uttama-ślokaṁ
dharma-arthaḥ
for spiritual advancement
uttama-ślokam
the Supreme Lord or persons attached to the Supreme Lord
tantuḥ tanvan pitṝn yajet
tantuḥ
for offspring
tanvan
and for their protection
pitṝn
the residents of Pitṛloka
yajet
must worship
rakṣā-kāmaḥ puṇya-janān
rakṣā-kāmaḥ
one who desires protection
puṇya-janān
pious persons
ojas-kāmo marud-gaṇān
ojaḥ-kāmaḥ
one who desires strength should worship
marut-gaṇān
the demigods.
One should worship Lord Viṣṇu or His devotee for spiritual advancement in knowledge, and for protection of heredity and advancement of a dynasty one should worship the various demigods.

The path of religion entails making progress on the path of spiritual advancement, ultimately reviving the eternal relation with Lord Viṣṇu in His impersonal effulgence, His localized Paramātmā feature, and ultimately His personal feature by spiritual advancement in knowledge. And one who wants to establish a good dynasty and be happy in the progress of temporary bodily relations should take shelter of the Pitās and the demigods in other pious planets. Such different classes of worshipers of different demigods may ultimately reach the respective planets of those demigods within the universe, but he who reaches the spiritual planets in the brahmajyoti achieves the highest perfection.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
The person desiring dharma should worship Dharma. The person desiring many descendents should worship the Pitṛs. The person desiring protection should worship the Yakṣas. The person desiring strong senses should worship the Maruts.
Commentary

Uttamaḥ-ślokam means Dharma. Tantuḥ tanvan means desiring increase of descendents. Puṇya-janān means the Yakṣas. The Maruts are devatās.

Worship Viṣṇu or His devotee for spiritual advancement; everything else, including dynasty and worldly stability, gets you what it gets you — temporary planets and temporary bodies.
Reflection Questions
  • What in my life am I currently 'worshipping' that, at best, only delivers dynasty and stability?
  • Where could I redirect that energy toward Viṣṇu or His devotees?
📝 My note

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