FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.19.3

यत्र यज्ञपति: साक्षाद्भगवान् हरिरीश्वर: । अन्वभूयत सर्वात्मा सर्वलोकगुरु: प्रभु: ॥ ३ ॥
yatra yajña-patiḥ sākṣād
[yatra yajna-patih saakshaad]
bhagavān harir īśvaraḥ
[bhagavaan harir eeshvarah]
anvabhūyata sarvātmā
[anvabhooyata sarvaatmaa]
sarva-loka-guruḥ prabhuḥ
[sarva-loka-guruh prabhuh]
yatra — where yajña-patiḥ — the enjoyer of all sacrifices sākṣāt — directly bhagavān — the Supreme Personality of Godhead hariḥ — Lord Viṣṇu īśvaraḥ — the supreme controller anvabhūyata — became visible sarva-ātmā — the Supersoul of everyone sarva-loka-guruḥ — the master of all planets, or the teacher of everyone prabhuḥ — the proprietor.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
yatra yajña-patiḥ sākṣād
yatra
where
yajña-patiḥ
the enjoyer of all sacrifices
sākṣāt
directly
bhagavān harir īśvaraḥ
bhagavān
the Supreme Personality of Godhead
hariḥ
Lord Viṣṇu
īśvaraḥ
the supreme controller
anvabhūyata sarvātmā
anvabhūyata
became visible
sarva-ātmā
the Supersoul of everyone
sarva-loka-guruḥ prabhuḥ
sarva-loka-guruḥ
the master of all planets, or the teacher of everyone
prabhuḥ
the proprietor.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Viṣṇu, is present in everyone’s heart as the Supersoul, and He is the proprietor of all planets and the enjoyer of the results of all sacrifices. He was personally present at the sacrifices made by King Pṛthu.

In this verse the word sākṣāt is significant. Pṛthu Mahārāja was a śaktyāveśa-avatāra incarnation of Lord Viṣṇu. Actually Pṛthu Mahārāja was a living entity, but he acquired specific powers from Lord Viṣṇu. Lord Viṣṇu, however, is directly the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and thus belongs to the category of viṣṇu-tattva. Mahārāja Pṛthu belonged to the jīva-tattva. The viṣṇu-tattva indicates God, whereas the jīva-tattva indicates the part and parcel of God. When God’s part and parcel is especially empowered, he is called śaktyāveśa-avatāra. Lord Viṣṇu is herein described as harir īśvaraḥ. The Lord is so kind that He takes all miserable conditions away from His devotees. Consequently He is called Hari. He is described as īśvara because He can do whatever He likes. He is the supreme controller. The supreme īśvara puruṣottama is Lord Kṛṣṇa. He exhibits His powers as īśvara, or the supreme controller, when He assures His devotee in Bhagavad-gītā (18.66) : “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.” He can immediately make His devotee immune from all the reactions caused by sinful life if the devotee simply surrenders unto Him. He is described herein as sarvātmā, meaning that He is present in everyone’s heart as the Supersoul, and as such He is the supreme teacher of everyone. If we are fortunate enough to take the lessons given by Lord Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavad-gītā, our lives immediately become successful. No one can give better instructions to human society than Lord Kṛṣṇa.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
In that sacrifice, the master of sacrifice, the Supreme Lord, the soul of all beings, the guru for the whole universe, Viṣṇu, personally appeared. Seven verses show how he surpassed Indra in execution of karma.
Lord Viṣṇu Himself attended Pṛthu's sacrifices — Supersoul of all, enjoyer of all yajñas. When the work is properly directed, the chief recipient shows up personally.
Reflection Questions
  • Whose presence at my work would confirm it's correctly directed?
  • Where am I doing yajña without inviting the chief recipient?
📝 My note

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