FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 8.24.30

न तेऽरविन्दाक्ष पदोपसर्पणं मृषा भवेत् सर्वसुहृत्प्रियात्मन: । यथेतरेषां पृथगात्मनां सता- मदीद‍ृशो यद् वपुरद्भ‍ुतं हि न: ॥ ३० ॥
na te ’ravindākṣa padopasarpaṇaṁ
[na te ’ravindaaksha padopasarpanam]
mṛṣā bhavet sarva-suhṛt-priyātmanaḥ
[mrishaa bhavet sarva-suhrit-priyaatmanah]
yathetareṣāṁ pṛthag-ātmanāṁ satām
[yathetareshaam prithag-aatmanaam sataam]
adīdṛśo yad vapur adbhutaṁ hi naḥ
[adeedrisho yad vapur adbhutam hi nah]
na — never te — of Your Lordship aravinda-akṣa — My Lord, whose eyes are like the petals of a lotus pada-upasarpaṇam — worship of the lotus feet mṛṣā — useless bhavet — can become sarva-suhṛt — the friend of everyone priya — dear to everyone ātmanaḥ — the Supersoul of everyone yathā — as itareṣām — of others (the demigods) pṛthak-ātmanām — living entities who have material bodies different from the soul satām — of those who are spiritually fixed adīdṛśaḥ — You have manifested yat — that vapuḥ — body adbhutam — wonderful hi — indeed naḥ — unto us.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
na te ’ravindākṣa padopasarpaṇaṁ
na
never
te
of Your Lordship
aravinda-akṣa
My Lord, whose eyes are like the petals of a lotus
pada-upasarpaṇam
worship of the lotus feet
mṛṣā bhavet sarva-suhṛt-priyātmanaḥ
mṛṣā
useless
bhavet
can become
sarva-suhṛt
the friend of everyone
priya
dear to everyone
ātmanaḥ
the Supersoul of everyone
yathetareṣāṁ pṛthag-ātmanāṁ satām
yathā
as
itareṣām
of others (the demigods)
pṛthak-ātmanām
living entities who have material bodies different from the soul
satām
of those who are spiritually fixed
adīdṛśo yad vapur adbhutaṁ hi naḥ
adīdṛśaḥ
You have manifested
yat
that
vapuḥ
body
adbhutam
wonderful
hi
indeed
naḥ
unto us.
O my Lord, possessing eyes like the petals of a lotus, the worship of the demigods, who are in the bodily concept of life, is fruitless in all respects. But because You are the supreme friend and dearmost Supersoul of everyone, worship of Your lotus feet is never useless. You have therefore manifested Your form as a fish.

The demigods like Indra, Candra and Sūrya are ordinary living entities who are differentiated parts and parcels of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord expands Himself through the living beings ( nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām ( Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). His personal viṣṇu-tattva forms, which are all spiritual, are called svāṁśa, and the living entities who are differentiated parts are called vibhinnāṁśa. Some of the vibhinnāṁśa forms are spiritual, and some are a combination of matter and spirit. The conditioned souls in the material world are different from their external bodies made of material energy. Thus the demigods living in the upper planetary systems and the living entities living in the lower planetary system are of the same nature. Nonetheless, those living as human beings on this planet are sometimes attracted to worshiping the demigods in the higher planetary systems. Such worship is temporary. As the human beings on this planet have to change their bodies ( tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ ), the living entities known as Indra, Candra, Varuṇa and so on will also have to change their bodies in due course of time. As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, antavat tu phalaṁ teṣāṁ tad bhavaty alpa-medhasām: “Men of small intelligence worship the demigods, and their fruits are limited and temporary.” Kāmais tais tair hṛta jñānāḥ prapadyante ’nya-devatāḥ: those who do not know the position of the demigods are inclined to worship the demigods for some material purpose, but the results of such worship are never permanent. Consequently, here it is said, yathetareṣāṁ pṛthag-ātmanāṁ satām, padopasarpaṇaṁ mṛṣā bhavet. In other words, if one is to worship someone else, he must worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then his worship will never be fruitless. Svalpam apy asya dharmasya trāyate mahato bhayāt: even a slight attempt to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead is a permanent asset. Therefore, as recommended in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, tyaktvā sva-dharmaṁ caraṇāmbujaṁ hareḥ. One should take to the worship of the lotus feet of Hari, even if this means giving up the so-called occupational duty assigned because of the particular body one has accepted. Because worship in terms of the body is temporary, it does not bear any permanent fruit. But worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead gives immense benefit.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
O my Lord, possessing eyes like the petals of a lotus! You are the dear soul and friend of everyone. Worship of your lotus feet is never useless like worshiping devatās who have the covering of a material body. You have shown this astonishing form for your devotees. The devatās have bodies which are different from their souls (pṛthagātmānām). You are not like that, since your soul is not different from your body. For delivering your devotees (satām) you have shown this form. Another version has pṛthag-ātmano ‘satām: it is not useless like worship of devatās by an ordinary man with body separate from the soul.
Worship of demigods, in the bodily concept, is fruitless in all respects — but worship of Your feet is never useless. You manifested this fish form for that reason. Direct worship is structurally different.
Reflection Questions
  • Where do I worship intermediaries when scripture says direct worship is structurally superior?
  • What would change if I treated demigod-equivalents in my life as helpful but never primary?
📝 My note

← Read full Chapter 24