Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.74.17
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
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sūtye
—
of extracting the soma juice
From √su (to press, to extract). The pressing of soma is the central act of the Vedic yajña-day; this verse locates the entire chapter's drama on that day. Whatever the assembly decides at this point will be ratified by the soma itself.
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sadasaḥ - patīn
—
the leaders of the assembly
Compound: sadas (assembly) + pati (master). The presiding members. The verse establishes the social etiquette: priests first, then assembly-heads. Only after these does the agra-pūjā question come up — and it is precisely the orderly sequence that makes the answer (Kṛṣṇa first) so consequential.
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apūjayat
—
worshiped
Imperfect of √pūj. Pūjā is offering of honor — a more formal cognate of bhakti's outward limb. The word recurs through this chapter and tightens around Kṛṣṇa by verse 26.
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su - samāhitaḥ
—
with careful attention
Su (well) + samāhita (composed, focused). The Vedic word for citta-ekāgratā. Yudhiṣṭhira's worship is not perfunctory; it is the king-as-yajamāna fully gathered into the act.
Śrīla Prabhupāda writes in Kṛṣṇa: “According to the Vedic system, whenever there is an arrangement for sacrifice, the members participating in the sacrifice are offered the juice of the soma plant, which is a kind of life-giving beverage. On the day of extracting the soma juice, King Yudhiṣṭhira very respectfully received the special priest who had been engaged to detect any mistake in the formalities of sacrificial procedures. The idea is that the Vedic mantras must be enunciated perfectly and chanted with the proper accent; if the priests who are engaged in this business commit any mistake, the checker, or referee priest, immediately corrects the procedure, and thus the ritualistic performances are perfectly executed. Unless it is perfectly executed, a sacrifice cannot yield the desired result. In this Age of Kali there is no such learned brāhmaṇa or priest available; therefore, all such sacrifices are forbidden. The only sacrifice recommended in the śāstras is the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra.”
On the day of extracting soma (sutye ahani) Yudhisthira worshiped the priests.
With faith he worshipped the best members of the assembly as appropriate to their status because they were most pure (mahābhāgān), since he was the protector of the earth, having conquered the directions.
With faith he worshipped the best members of the assembly as appropriate to their status because they were very pure (mahābhāgān) or were entitled to portions of the donations from the sacrifice, since he was the protector of the earth, having conquered the directions.
On the day the wine of immortality is pressed, the host bows before the cooks — because before guests are honored, the hands that made the meal must be acknowledged. On sūtya-ahan, Yudhiṣṭhira turns first to his priests and the sadasya-leaders.
My note
Source: vedabase.io