FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Bhagavad-gītā 3.14

అన్నాద్భ‍వన్తి భూతాని పర్జన్యాదన్నసమ్భవః । యజ్ఞా‍ద్భ‍‍వతి పర్జన్యో యజ్ఞః కర్మసముద్భ‍వః ॥ ౧౪ ॥
annād bhavanti bhūtāni
[annaad bhavanti bhootaani]
parjanyād anna-sambhavaḥ
[parjanyaad anna-sambhavah]
yajñād bhavati parjanyo
[yajnaad bhavati parjanyo]
yajñaḥ karma-samudbhavaḥ
[yajnah karma-samudbhavah]
Word-for-word
annāt — from grains bhavanti — grow bhūtāni — the material bodies parjanyāt — from rains anna — of food grains sambhavaḥ — production yajñāt — from the performance of sacrifice bhavati — becomes possible parjanyaḥ — rain yajñaḥ — performance of yajña karma — prescribed duties samudbhavaḥ — born of .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
annād bhavanti bhūtāni
annāt
from grains
bhavanti
grow
bhūtāni
the material bodies
parjanyād anna-sambhavaḥ
parjanyāt
from rains
anna
of food grains
sambhavaḥ
production
yajñād bhavati parjanyo
yajñāt
from the performance of sacrifice
bhavati
becomes possible
parjanyaḥ
rain
yajñaḥ karma-samudbhavaḥ
yajñaḥ
performance of yajña
karma
prescribed duties
samudbhavaḥ
born of .
Important Words
  • annāt — from grains
    Ablative of anna. The same anna that the Taittirīya Upaniṣad calls Brahman — annaṁ brahmeti vyajānāt. The body's substance is itself divine; the verse begins the chain at what we eat.
  • bhūtāni — the material bodies, living entities
    Plural. Not just human bodies — all embodied beings. The food-chain teaching is universal, not anthropocentric.
  • parjanyāt — from rains
    Ablative. Parjanya is the rain-deity and the rain itself — the link between heaven and earth. The verse names rain, not irrigation: the source is cosmic, not mechanical.
  • yajñāt — from the performance of sacrifice
    Ablative. The middle link — the one most often missed by moderns. The verse insists that rain ultimately *comes from* sacrifice, a claim that re-enchants the entire weather system.
  • karma — prescribed duties
    Here karma means specifically the Vedic ritual prescription — not generic action. The chain runs all the way back to action-in-accordance-with-scripture as the source of yajña.
  • samudbhavaḥ — born of
    From sam-ud-√bhū, fully-up-rising — i.e. arising completely from. Used twice in the verse, marking each link as a true origin, not a mere correlation.
All living bodies subsist on food grains, which are produced from rains. Rains are produced by performance of yajña [sacrifice], and yajña is born of prescribed duties.
Purport

Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa, a great commentator on the Bhagavad-gītā, writes as follows: ye indrādy-aṅgatayāvasthitaṁ yajñaṁ sarveśvaraṁ viṣṇum abhyarcya tac-cheṣam aśnanti tena tad deha-yātrāṁ sampādayanti, te santaḥ sarveśvarasya yajña-puruṣasya bhaktāḥ sarva-kilbiṣair anādi-kāla-vivṛddhair ātmānubhava-pratibandhakair nikhilaiḥ pāpair vimucyante. The Supreme Lord, who is known as the yajña-puruṣa, or the personal beneficiary of all sacrifices, is the master of all the demigods, who serve Him as the different limbs of the body serve the whole. Demigods like Indra, Candra and Varuṇa are appointed officers who manage material affairs, and the Vedas direct sacrifices to satisfy these demigods so that they may be pleased to supply air, light and water sufficiently to produce food grains. When Lord Kṛṣṇa is worshiped, the demigods, who are different limbs of the Lord, are also automatically worshiped; therefore there is no separate need to worship the demigods. For this reason, the devotees of the Lord, who are in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, offer food to Kṛṣṇa and then eat – a process which nourishes the body spiritually. By such action not only are past sinful reactions in the body vanquished, but the body becomes immunized to all contamination of material nature. When there is an epidemic disease, an antiseptic vaccine protects a person from the attack of such an epidemic. Similarly, food offered to Lord Viṣṇu and then taken by us makes us sufficiently resistant to material affection, and one who is accustomed to this practice is called a devotee of the Lord. Therefore, a person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, who eats only food offered to Kṛṣṇa, can counteract all reactions of past material infections, which are impediments to the progress of self-realization. On the other hand, one who does not do so continues to increase the volume of sinful action, and this prepares the next body to resemble hogs and dogs, to suffer the resultant reactions of all sins. The material world is full of contaminations, and one who is immunized by accepting prasādam of the Lord (food offered to Viṣṇu) is saved from the attack, whereas one who does not do so becomes subjected to contamination. Food grains or vegetables are factually eatables. The human being eats different kinds of food grains, vegetables, fruits, etc., and the animals eat the refuse of the food grains and vegetables, grass, plants, etc. Human beings who are accustomed to eating meat and flesh must also depend on the production of vegetation in order to eat the animals. Therefore, ultimately, we have to depend on the production of the field and not on the production of big factories. The field production is due to sufficient rain from the sky, and such rains are controlled by demigods like Indra, sun, moon, etc., and they are all servants of the Lord. The Lord can be satisfied by sacrifices; therefore, one who cannot perform them will find himself in scarcity – that is the law of nature. Yajña, specifically the saṅkīrtana-yajña prescribed for this age, must therefore be performed to save us at least from scarcity of food supply.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
14. All creatures arise from food. Food arises from rain. Rain arises from sacrifice. Sacrifice arises from prescribed actions.
Commentary

One should perform the yajṣa because it causes the cyclic movement in the universe. From food living entities exist. Food is the cause of the bodies of the entities, and from food arises the health of the bodies of the living entities with transformation into semen and blood. The cause of food is rain. By the rain, food is produced. The cause of rain is the yajṣa. By people performing yajṣa the clouds produce sufficient rain. The cause of yajṣa is karma, prescribed action. The yajṣa is produced from the actions of the priest and the patron.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
14. All creatures arise from food. Food arises from rain. Rain arises from sacrifice. Sacrifice arises from prescribed actions.
Commentary

After the Supreme Lord, master of the progeny, created the progeny, he created sacrifice for their sustenance. One who is obedient to the Lord must perform the sacrifice. With this intention the Lord speaks two verses. Living entities (bhūtāni) arise from food such as rice, for the food transforms into semen and blood, which in turn nourishes the body. Food arises from rain (parjanyāt). Rain arises from sacrifice. It is said: agnau prāstāhutiḥ samyag ādityam upatiṣṭhate ādityāj jāyate vṛṣṭir vṛṣṭer annaṁ tataḥ prajāḥ The oblation offered in the fire goes to the sun. Rain arises from the sun. From rain arises food, and from food arise the progeny. Manu Saṁhitā 3.76

Bhūrijana Dāsa Gauḍīya
Commentary

"You need these things just to live, so you have to depend on prescribed duties."

Study Notes — Gauranga Priya Dāsa
Gauranga Priya Dāsa Study
Bhakti-śāstrī Notes, ISKCON Chowpatty (2009)
Theme

Cycle of sacrifice – Sacrifice brings rains which nourishes the crop (food grains) which make living

entities prosperous and happy

Focus of Learning

(a) Definition of ‘Santas’ – Devotees who are always in love with lord

Ref. Brahma Samhita 5.38 – “Premanjana…”

(b) Different yajnas performed by devotees – different varieties of devotional service as sravanam,

kirtanam etc.

(c) Benefit – Freedom from “sinful reaction”

(d) “Sankirtana-yajna” : “Easy process to happiness and peace” for all people because without

yajna, one is thief and sinful, and thus no happiness

(e) How devotees are freed from sinful reactions – because they eat food first offered in sacrifice

(f) Fate of those who prepare food for their own self – They are thieves and sinful – Thus there is no

happiness

(h) Purpose of all these material supplies

To keep body and soul together for the self–realization

(i) “Dangers” of not performing yajnas

One is called a ‘thief’ – Because one forgets the purpose of creation and takes all the supplies for sense gratification and thus enjoys the gifts without offering to the demigods in return (3.12)
Society of thieves can “never be happy” because they have no aim in life (3.12)
“Gets sinful reaction” (3.13)

(j) Easiest yajna for this age – Sankirtana-yajna inaugurated by Lord Caitanya

Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
3.14 It is a matter of direct perception that annat, from food, which is eaten and is transformed into blood and semen; bhavanti, are born; bhutani, the creatures. Anna-sambhavah, the origin of food; is parjanyat, from rainfall. Parjanyah, rainfall; bhavati, originates; from yajnat, from sacrifice. This accords with the Smrti, 'The oblations properly poured into fire reaches the sun. From the sun comes rain, from rain comes food, and from the sun comes rain, from rain comes food, and from that the creatures' (Ma.Sm.3.76). (Here) sacrifice means its unie [Also termed as the unseen result (adrsta).-Tr.] result. And that sacrifice, i.e. the unie result, which arises (samudbhavah) from action (karma) undertaken by the priest and the sacrificer, is karma-samudbhavah; it has action for its origin.
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
3.14 From food arise all beings; from rain food is produced. These two facts are matters of common experience. 'From sacrifice comes rain' this is known from the scriptures such as, 'The oblations offered in fire reach the sun, and from the sun comes rain' (Manu, 6.76), and sacrifice is born out of activities in the form of collecting materials, etc., by the agent. And activity arises from 'Brahman', the body born of Prakrti.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
3.14 See Comment under 3.15
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
3.14 From food come forth beings; from rain food is produced; from sacrifice arises rain and sacrifice is born of action.
Commentary

3.14 अन्नात् from food? भवन्ति come forth? भूतानि beings? पर्जन्यात् from rain? अन्नसम्भवः production of food? यज्ञात् from sacrifice? भवति arises? पर्जन्यः rain? यज्ञः sacrifice? कर्मसमुद्भवः born of action.Commentary Here Yajna means Apurva or the subtle principle or the unseen form which a sacrifice assumes between the time of its performance and the time when its fruits manifest themselves.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
3.14 From food are born the creatures; the origin of food is from rainfall; rainfall originates from sacrifice; sacrifice has action as its origin.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
3.14 All creatures are the product of food, food is the product of rain, rain comes by sacrifice, and sacrifice is the noblest form of action.
Related values & verses
Related values
Tyaga (Renunciation / Letting Go)Karuna (Kindness / Compassion)Ahimsa (Non-violence / Compassion)Tapas (Austerity / Discipline)Atma Nigraha (Self-control)Daksya (Resourcefulness / Skill)Abhaya (Fearlessness)
Related verses
BG 3.15 BG 3.11 BG 15.13 SB 2.1.36 SB 2.5.26 SB 11.3.3 CC Ādi 2.117 CC Madhya 20.117 CC Madhya 25.130 Taittirīya Upaniṣad 2.2.1Taittirīya Upaniṣad 3.2.1
Concepts
Yajna
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
All beings come from food; food from rain; rain from sacrifice; sacrifice from action — life is a cosmic cycle held by yajña.
Practical Applications
  • Trace one ordinary item (a grain, a glass of water) back to its cosmic source as a contemplation.
  • Treat farmers, rain, sun, and Kṛṣṇa with corresponding gratitude.
  • Resist the modern illusion of food coming from supermarkets — restore reverence.
Reflection Questions
  • Where has my appreciation for the food chain become abstract?
  • How might daily prayer over food restore the cosmic context?
Analogy

A grain of rice is the last link in a long chain whose first link is held by the Supreme. Trace any meal backwards — body to grain, grain to rain, rain to yajña, yajña to dharma, dharma to the Imperishable — and the supermarket dissolves into the cosmos.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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