FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 8.16.31

नमो द्विशीर्ष्णे त्रिपदे चतु:श‍ृङ्गाय तन्तवे । सप्तहस्ताय यज्ञाय त्रयीविद्यात्मने नम: ॥ ३१ ॥
namo dvi-śīrṣṇe tri-pade
[namo dvi-sheershne tri-pade]
catuḥ-śṛṅgāya tantave
[chatuh-shringaaya tantave]
sapta-hastāya yajñāya
[sapta-hastaaya yajnaaya]
trayī-vidyātmane namaḥ
[trayee-vidyaatmane namah]
namaḥ — I offer my respectful obeisances unto You dvi-śīrṣṇe — who have two heads tri-pade — who have three legs catuḥ-śṛṅgāya — who have four horns tantave — who expand sapta-hastāya — who have seven hands yajñāya — unto the yajña-puruṣa, the supreme enjoyer trayī — the three modes of Vedic ritualistic ceremonies vidyā-ātmane — the Personality of Godhead, the embodiment of all knowledge namaḥ — I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
namo dvi-śīrṣṇe tri-pade
namaḥ
I offer my respectful obeisances unto You
dvi-śīrṣṇe
who have two heads
tri-pade
who have three legs
catuḥ-śṛṅgāya tantave
catuḥ-śṛṅgāya
who have four horns
tantave
who expand
sapta-hastāya yajñāya
sapta-hastāya
who have seven hands
yajñāya
unto the yajña-puruṣa, the supreme enjoyer
trayī-vidyātmane namaḥ
trayī
the three modes of Vedic ritualistic ceremonies
vidyā-ātmane
the Personality of Godhead, the embodiment of all knowledge
namaḥ
I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.
I offer my respectful obeisances unto You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who have two heads [prāyaṇīya and udāyanīya], three legs [savana-traya], four horns [the four Vedas] and seven hands [the seven chandas, such as Gāyatrī]. I offer my obeisances unto You, whose heart and soul are the three Vedic rituals [karma-kāṇḍa, jñāna-kāṇḍa and upāsanā-kāṇḍa] and who expand these rituals in the form of sacrifice.
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
I offer my respectful obeisances unto you, the Supreme Lord who bestows the results of sacrifice, the Lord with two heads, three legs, four horns and seven hands, and to the soul of the three types of knowledge. Respects are offered to the guṇāvatāras in three verses. Respects are first offered to Viṣṇu in the form of sacrifice described in a Vedic mantra. He bestows the result of sacrifice (tantave). He is the soul of three types of knowledge or scripture. The mantra describing Viṣṇu is catvāri śṛṅgāṇi trayo ’sya pādā deve śīrṣe sapta hastāḥ, so ’sya tridhā baddho vṛṣabho roravīti mahadevo martyān āviveśa: the excellent Lord, with four horns, three feet, two heads and seven hands, bound three times, roaring loudly, entered mankind. (Ṛg Veda 4.58.3) Yāska explains that the four horns are the four Vedas. The three feet are the three periods of the day. The two heads are the introductory and concluding portions of sacrifice. The seven hands are seven meters. The three elements bound up are the mantra portion of the Vedas, the brāhmaṇa portion and the kalpa portion (rules for sacrifice). One chants (roravi) using the Ṛg-veda, Yajur-veda and Sāma-veda. One invokes the Lord by the Ṛg-veda, performs sacrifice by the Yajur-veda and praises the Lord by Sāma-veda.
Two heads, three legs, four horns, seven hands — Yajña-form. The Vedic rituals are His heart and soul. The Lord embodies sacrifice. To skip yajña is to skip an entire mode of His self-disclosure.
Reflection Questions
  • What yajña does my life regularly perform, and what aspect of the Lord does that miss?
  • Where do I bypass ritual as 'unnecessary' when scripture treats it as His very body?
📝 My note

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