FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.84.12

నాగ్నిర్న సూర్యో న చ చన్ద్రతారకా న భూర్జలం ఖం శ్వసనోఽథ వాఙ్‍మన: । ఉపాసితా భేదకృతో హరన్త్యఘం విపశ్చితో ఘ్నన్తి ముహూర్తసేవయా ॥ ౧౨ ॥
nāgnir na sūryo na ca candra-tārakā
[naagnir na sooryo na cha chandra-taarakaa]
na bhūr jalaṁ khaṁ śvasano ’tha vāṅ manaḥ
[na bhoor jalam kham shvasano ’tha vaan manah]
upāsitā bheda-kṛto haranty aghaṁ
[upaasitaa bheda-krito haranty agham]
vipaścito ghnanti muhūrta-sevayā
[vipashchito ghnanti muhoorta-sevayaa]
na — not agniḥ — fire na — not sūryaḥ — the sun na — not ca — and candra — the moon tārakāḥ — and stars na — not bhūḥ — earth jalam — water kham — ether śvasanaḥ — breath atha — or vāk — speech manaḥ — and the mind upāsitāḥ — worshiped bheda — differences (between himself and other living beings) kṛtaḥ — of one who creates haranti — they take away agham — the sins vipaścitaḥ — wise men ghnanti — destroy muhūrta — for a span of minutes sevayā — by service .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
nāgnir na sūryo na ca candra-tārakā
na
not
agniḥ
fire
na
not
sūryaḥ
the sun
na
not
ca
and
candra
the moon
tārakāḥ
and stars
na bhūr jalaṁ khaṁ śvasano ’tha vāṅ manaḥ
na
not
bhūḥ
earth
jalam
water
kham
ether
śvasanaḥ
breath
atha
or
vāk
speech
manaḥ
and the mind
upāsitā bheda-kṛto haranty aghaṁ
upāsitāḥ
worshiped
bheda
differences (between himself and other living beings)
kṛtaḥ
of one who creates
haranti
they take away
agham
the sins
vipaścito ghnanti muhūrta-sevayā
vipaścitaḥ
wise men
ghnanti
destroy
muhūrta
for a span of minutes
sevayā
by service .
  • bheda-kṛtaḥ — of one who makes differences
    bheda (difference) + kṛt (maker). The worshiper who sees himself as separate from other jīvas and from Bhagavān. Gauḍīyas read this through acintya-bhedābheda: bheda is real, but without bhakti it stays as an obstruction; with bhakti it becomes the structure of rasa.
  • vipaścitaḥ — wise men
    From vipaś (to see clearly). The seer-sage. Contrast with the literally blind worshiper of dualities above. Gauḍīyas treat vipaścit as one who has seen through nāma-rūpa to Bhagavān as the substrate.
  • muhūrta — a span of minutes
    A muhūrta is about 48 minutes. The verse measures the saint's effective time in muhūrtas while measuring the demigod's in uru-kāla. Gauḍīyas read this as the operative law of sādhu-saṅga's velocity.
  • sevayā — by service
    From √sev (to serve, attend upon). Not just seeing — serving. Gauḍīyas hold that sevā activates the contact: bhakti is service, and service to a Vaiṣṇava is service to Bhagavān (mad-bhakta-pūjābhyadhikā, SB 11.19.21).
Neither the demigods controlling fire, the sun, the moon and the stars nor those in charge of earth, water, ether, air, speech and mind actually remove the sins of their worshipers, who continue to see in terms of dualities. But wise sages destroy one’s sins when respectfully served for even a few moments.

An immature devotee of the Supreme Lord may accept only the Deity of the Lord as divine and see everything else as material — even the Lord’s confidential servants. Nonetheless, because he recognizes Lord Viṣṇu’s supreme position, such a devotee is better situated than materialistic worshipers of the demigods, and he thus deserves a degree of respect. Association with advanced sages, either directly or by hearing their instructions, is recommended in this verse for one who wishes to advance beyond the lowest stages of devotional life. A neophyte devotee may be free from the more obvious sins of violence against innocent creatures and against his own body and mind, but until he becomes very advanced on the devotional path, he must always contend with the subtler contaminations of false pride, disrespect toward respectable Vaiṣṇavas and lack of compassion for suffering creatures. The best remedy for these symptoms of immaturity is to hear from and honor pure Vaiṣṇavas and to assist them in working to deliver the fallen, conditioned souls.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Neither the demigods controlling fire, the sun, the moon and the stars nor those in charge of earth, water, ether, air, speech and mind actually remove the sins of their worshipers, who continue to see in terms of dualities. But wise sages destroy one's sins when respectfully served for even a few moments.
Commentary

Concerning the worship of voice and mind, the sruti says, "Those who worship the voice as Brahman and those who worship the mind as brahman." Those who see difference (bheda krt) between himself and others, who are actually similar, because of urges like hunger and thirst and gain of respect and other desires, cannot destroy their sins (agaham) such as envy, disrespect, and contempt arising from seeing difference by such worship. But they can destroy those sins by serving the great devotees.

Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

“Worship of deities by seeing them and serving places holy because of deities, or worshipping those holy places may be less effective. But what about worshipping the material elements?” Worship of persons like yourselves is the best of all. Tāraka refers to the presiding deities such as Bṛhaspati for the planet Jupiter. Bheda-kṛtaḥ means persons say to others “I am Indra,” or “I am Varuṇa.” Nor do such persons announce to others that the Supreme Lord is non-different from everything. Or by not seeing the Lord, they think in terms of distinctions everywhere. But those who see the Supreme Lord, those who reveal the Supreme Lord to others, destroy sins whose root is ignorance even if one serves them for a moment.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

This is further described. Those devatās think they are each controllers, though they are non-different from the Lord, since he resides in them.

Related values
Sthitaprajna (Steady Wisdom)Vairagya (Detachment / Dispassion)Discriminative WisdomShanti (Peace / Tranquility)Abhaya (Fearlessness)Seva (Service / Selfless Action)Saurya (Heroism / Bravery)Samata (Equanimity / Even-mindedness)Ishvara Pranidhana (Surrender to God)
Related verses

Demigods are like specialist physicians who clear the symptom that falls under their charge — fever, dropsy, broken sleep. A wise sādhu is the family doctor who treats the patient. Kṛṣṇa says: a few minutes of being treated by the latter dissolves what years of departmental worship merely managed.

Ajāmila and the Viṣṇu-dūtas

In SB 6.1–3, the fallen brāhmaṇa Ajāmila, who had served countless gods over the years through mechanical ritual, is rescued at the last moment not by any demigod but by the messengers of Viṣṇu — because at his death he called the name Nārāyaṇa (meaning his son).

Gauḍīyas pair this with the present verse: dvaita-buddhi worship of demigods does not reach the root; one moment of contact with the Vaiṣṇava reality does.

📝 My note

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