SB 2.6.25 — FolioCorpus

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.6.25

వస్తూన్యోషధయ: స్‍నేహా రసలోహమృదో జలమ్ । ఋచో యజూంషి సామాని చాతుర్హోత్రం చ సత్తమ ॥ ౨౫ ॥

vastūny oṣadhayaḥ snehā

[vastoony oshadhayah snehaa]

rasa-loha-mṛdo jalam

[rasa-loha-mrido jalam]

ṛco yajūṁṣi sāmāni

[richo yajoomshi saamaani]

cātur-hotraṁ ca sattama

[chaatur-hotram cha sattama]

Word-for-word

vastūni — utensils oṣadhayaḥ — grains snehāḥ — clarified butter rasa-loha-mṛdaḥ — honey, gold and earth jalam — water ṛcaḥ — the Ṛg Veda yajūṁṣi — the Yajur Veda sāmāni — the Sāma Veda cātuḥ-hotram — four persons conducting the performance ca — all these sattama — O most pious one.

Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)

vastūny oṣadhayaḥ snehā

vastūni

utensils

oṣadhayaḥ

grains

snehāḥ

clarified butter

rasa-loha-mṛdo jalam

rasa-loha-mṛdaḥ

honey, gold and earth

jalam

water

ṛco yajūṁṣi sāmāni

ṛcaḥ

the Ṛg Veda

yajūṁṣi

the Yajur Veda

sāmāni

the Sāma Veda

cātur-hotraṁ ca sattama

cātuḥ-hotram

four persons conducting the performance

all these

sattama

O most pious one.

Other requirements are utensils, grains, clarified butter, honey, gold, earth, water, the Ṛg Veda, Yajur Veda and Sāma Veda and four priests to perform the sacrifice.

Purport

To perform a sacrifice successfully, at least four expert priests are needed: one who can offer ( hotā ), one who can chant ( udgātā ), one who can kindle the sacrificial fire without the aid of separate fire ( adhvaryu ), and one who can supervise ( brahmā ). Such sacrifices were conducted from the birth of Brahmā, the first living creature, and were carried on till the reign of Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira. But such expert brāhmaṇa priests are very rare in this age of corruption and quarrel, and therefore in the present age only the yajṣa of chanting the holy name of the Lord is recommended. The scriptures enjoin:

harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda

Gauḍīya Ācāryas

Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya

Translation

By using the limbs of the Lord, I assembled the following ingredients: animals, the sacrificial posts, the kuśa grass, the proper place and the proper time such as spring; plates and other utensils, plants like rice, ghee, honey, metals like gold, earth, water, verses of the Ṛg, Yajur and Sāma Vedas, the various offerings of oblations; the names of the sacrifices like jyostiṣṭoma, the mantras, gifts, vows, assigning the regions of the devatās, the sacrificial manuals, ritual vows, and the modes of performance.

Commentary

This sentence continues for four verses. In order to make ingredients (teṣu) for sacrifice, I produced the ingredients from the Lord’s limbs (saṁbharāḥ sambhṛtāḥ). The end of the sentence is in verse 28. Vanaspatayaḥ means sacrificial posts. Deva-yajanam is a sacrificial ground, for it is said that one should sit in a place worthy of sacrifice. Bahu-guṇānvitaḥ means times like spring. Vastūni means plates and other utensils. Oṣadhayaḥ means plants like rice. Snehā means oils like ghee. Rasa means liquids like honey. Loha means metals like gold. Cātur-hotram means acts like offering oblations.

Nāmadheyāni means the names of the sacrifices such as jyotiṣṭoma. Devatānukrama means assigning the locations of the devatās. Kalpa means a practical guide to the actions such as Baudhāyana-śrauta-sūtras. Saṁkalpa means the utterance of a ritual vow, such as “Now I perform this ceremony.” Tantram means the method of performance.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io