FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.7.45

ब्राह्मणा ऊचु: त्वं क्रतुस्त्वं हविस्त्वं हुताश: स्वयंत्वं हि मन्त्र: समिद्दर्भपात्राणि च । त्वं सदस्यर्त्विजो दम्पती देवताअग्निहोत्रं स्वधा सोम आज्यं पशु: ॥ ४५ ॥
brāhmaṇā ūcuḥ
[braahmanaa oochuh]
tvaṁ kratus tvaṁ havis tvaṁ hutāśaḥ svayaṁ
[tvam kratus tvam havis tvam hutaashah svayam]
tvaṁ hi mantraḥ samid-darbha-pātrāṇi ca
[tvam hi mantrah samid-darbha-paatraani cha]
tvaṁ sadasyartvijo dampatī devatā
[tvam sadasyartvijo dampatee devataa]
agnihotraṁ svadhā soma ājyaṁ paśuḥ
[agnihotram svadhaa soma aajyam pashuh]
Word-for-word
brāhmaṇāḥ — the brāhmaṇas ūcuḥ — said tvam — You kratuḥ — sacrifice tvam — You haviḥ — offering of clarified butter tvam — You huta-āśaḥ — fire svayam — personified tvam — You hi — for mantraḥ — the Vedic hymns samit-darbha-pātrāṇi — the fuel, the kuśa grass and the sacrificial pots ca — and tvam — You sadasya — the members of the assembly ṛtvijaḥ — the priests dampatī — the chief person of the sacrifice and his wife devatā — demigods agni-hotram — the sacred fire ceremony svadhā — the offering to the forefathers somaḥ — the soma plant ājyam — the clarified butter paśuḥ — the sacrificial animal.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
brāhmaṇā ūcuḥ
brāhmaṇāḥ
the brāhmaṇas
ūcuḥ
said
tvaṁ kratus tvaṁ havis tvaṁ hutāśaḥ svayaṁ
tvam
You
kratuḥ
sacrifice
tvam
You
haviḥ
offering of clarified butter
tvam
You
huta-āśaḥ
fire
svayam
personified
tvaṁ hi mantraḥ samid-darbha-pātrāṇi ca
tvam
You
hi
for
mantraḥ
the Vedic hymns
samit-darbha-pātrāṇi
the fuel, the kuśa grass and the sacrificial pots
ca
and
tvaṁ sadasyartvijo dampatī devatā
tvam
You
sadasya
the members of the assembly
ṛtvijaḥ
the priests
dampatī
the chief person of the sacrifice and his wife
devatā
demigods
agnihotraṁ svadhā soma ājyaṁ paśuḥ
agni-hotram
the sacred fire ceremony
svadhā
the offering to the forefathers
somaḥ
the soma plant
ājyam
the clarified butter
paśuḥ
the sacrificial animal.
The brāhmaṇas said: Dear Lord, You are sacrifice personified. You are the offering of clarified butter, You are the fire, You are the chanting of Vedic hymns by which the sacrifice is conducted, You are the fuel, You are the flame, You are the kuśa grass, and You are the sacrificial pots. You are the priests who perform the yajña, You are the demigods headed by Indra, and You are the sacrificial animal. Everything that is sacrificed is You or Your energy.
Purport

In this statement Lord Viṣṇu’s all-pervasiveness is partially explained. It is said in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa that as a fire situated in one place emanates its heat and illumination everywhere, so whatever we see within the material or spiritual worlds is nothing but a manifestation of different energies emanating from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The brāhmaṇas’ statement is that Lord Viṣṇu is everything — the fire, the offering, the clarified butter, the utensils, the place of sacrifice and the kuśa. He is everything. It is confirmed herein that the performance of saṅkīrtana-yajña in this age is as good as all other yajñas in all other ages. If one performs saṅkīrtana-yajña by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, there is no need to arrange elaborate paraphernalia for the prescribed sacrificial ceremonies recommended in the Vedas. In the chant of the holy names, Hare and Kṛṣṇa, Hare means the energy of Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa is the viṣṇu-tattva. Combined together they are everything. In this age, persons are harassed by the influence of Kali-yuga and cannot arrange for all the requisite paraphernalia for performing sacrifice as recommended in the Vedas. But if one simply chants Hare Kṛṣṇa, it is to be understood that he is performing all kinds of yajña because there is nothing within our vision except Hare (the energy of Kṛṣṇa) and Kṛṣṇa. There is no difference between Kṛṣṇa and His energies. Thus, since everything is a manifestation of His energy, it is to be understood that everything is Kṛṣṇa. One simply has to accept everything in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and he is a liberated person. One should not misunderstand that because everything is Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa has no personal identity. Kṛṣṇa is so full that in spite of keeping Himself separate from everything by His energy, He is everything. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā, Ninth Chapter. He is spread throughout the creation as everything, but still He is not everything. The philosophy recommended by Lord Caitanya is that He is simultaneously one and different.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
The brāhmaṇas said: You are the sacrifice, the oblation, the fire, the mantras, the vessels, fuel and kuśa grass. You are the assembly, the priests, the sponsor and his wife, the devatās, the offering to Agni, the mantra svadhā, the soma, the ghee and the sacrificial animal. Sadaysa and ṛtvijaḥ are two separate items.
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Brāhmaṇas declare: You are the ghee, the fire, the hymn, the kuśa, the priest, the demigods, the altar — everything in the sacrifice. The entire ecosystem of a sacred act is the Lord's manifestation; nothing in it is mere prop.
Reflection Questions
  • Which 'prop' in my devotional life have I been ignoring as if it were just material?
  • How does my approach change if every element of a sacred act is Him in another form?
📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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