FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 9.11.1

श्रीशुक उवाच भगवानात्मनात्मानं राम उत्तमकल्पकै: । सर्वदेवमयं देवमीजेऽथाचार्यवान् मखै: ॥ १ ॥
śrī-śuka uvāca
[shree-shuka uvaacha]
bhagavān ātmanātmānaṁ
[bhagavaan aatmanaatmaanam]
rāma uttama-kalpakaiḥ
[raama uttama-kalpakaih]
sarva-devamayaṁ devam
[sarva-devamayam devam]
īje ’thācāryavān makhaiḥ
[eeje ’thaachaaryavaan makhaih]
śrī-śukaḥ uvāca — Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said bhagavān — the Supreme Personality of Godhead ātmanā — by Himself ātmānam — Himself rāmaḥ — Lord Rāmacandra uttama-kalpakaiḥ — with very opulent paraphernalia sarva-deva-mayam — the heart and soul of all the demigods devam — the Supreme Lord Himself īje — worshiped atha — thus ācāryavān — under the guidance of an ācārya makhaiḥ — by performing sacrifices.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
śrī-śuka uvāca
śrī-śukaḥ uvāca
Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī said
bhagavān ātmanātmānaṁ
bhagavān
the Supreme Personality of Godhead
ātmanā
by Himself
ātmānam
Himself
rāma uttama-kalpakaiḥ
rāmaḥ
Lord Rāmacandra
uttama-kalpakaiḥ
with very opulent paraphernalia
sarva-devamayaṁ devam
sarva-deva-mayam
the heart and soul of all the demigods
devam
the Supreme Lord Himself
īje ’thācāryavān makhaiḥ
īje
worshiped
atha
thus
ācāryavān
under the guidance of an ācārya
makhaiḥ
by performing sacrifices.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Thereafter, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Rāmacandra, accepted an ācārya and performed sacrifices [yajñas] with opulent paraphernalia. Thus He Himself worshiped Himself, for He is the Supreme Lord of all demigods.

Sarvārhaṇam acyutejyā. If Acyuta, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is worshiped, then everyone is worshiped. As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (4.31.14) :

yathā taror mūla-niṣecanena tṛpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopaśākhāḥ prāṇopahārāc ca yathendriyāṇāṁ tathaiva sarvārhaṇam acyutejyā

“As pouring water on the root of a tree nourishes the trunk, branches, twigs and leaves, and as supplying food to the stomach enlivens the senses and limbs of the body, worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead satisfies the demigods, who are part of that Supreme Personality.” Performing yajña involves worshiping the Supreme Lord. Here the Supreme Lord worshiped the Supreme Lord. Therefore it is said, bhagavān ātmanātmānam īje: the Lord worshiped Himself by Himself. This does not, of course, justify the Māyāvāda philosophy, by which one thinks himself the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The jīva, the living entity, is always different from the Supreme Lord. The living entities ( vibhinnāṁśa ) never become one with the Lord, although Māyāvādīs sometimes imitate the Lord’s worship of Himself. Lord Kṛṣṇa meditated upon Himself every morning as a gṛhastha, and similarly Lord Rāmacandra performed yajñas to satisfy Himself, but this does not mean that an ordinary living being should imitate the Lord by accepting the process of ahaṅgrahopāsanā. Such unauthorized worship is not recommended herein.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: The Supreme Lord, Rāmacandra, accepted an ācārya and performed sacrifices with the best paraphernalia. Thus he worshiped himself, by himself. The Eleventh Chapter describes the sacrifices performed by Rāma, his rejection of Sītā, her entrance into the earth, and sending his brothers to conquer the directions. “He worshipped himself by himself” means that he worshipped himself by sacrifices which were not different from him, since he is the process and the result of sacrifice.
Lord Rāmacandra Himself performs sacrifice to Himself, accepting an ācārya to officiate. Even the Supreme Lord submits to the proper devotional process — what hope is there for us to skip it?
Reflection Questions
  • Where am I trying to short-circuit the formal devotional process the Lord Himself accepted?
  • Whose ācāryaship am I currently under — and how seriously?
📝 My note

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