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ŚB 10.40.5

Devanagari

त्रय्या च विद्यया केचित्त्वां वै वैतानिका द्विजा: ।
यजन्ते विततैर्यज्ञैर्नाना रूपामराख्यया ॥ ५ ॥

Text

trayyā ca vidyayā kecit
tvāṁ vai vaitānikā dvijāḥ
yajante vitatair yajñair
nānā-rūpāmarākhyayā

Synonyms

trayyā — of the three Vedas; ca — and; vidyayā — by the mantras; kecit — some; tvām — You; vai — indeed; vaitānikāḥ — who respect the regulations of the three sacred fires; dvijāḥbrāhmaṇas; yajante — worship; vitataiḥ — elaborate; yajñaiḥ — with ritual sacrifices; nānā — various; rūpa — having forms; amara — of demigods; ākhyayā — by the designations.

Translation

Brāhmaṇas who follow the regulations concerning the three sacred fires worship You by chanting mantras from the three Vedas and performing elaborate fire sacrifices for the various demigods, who have many forms and names.

Purport

Akrūra has now described how those who follow the paths of Sāṅkhya, yoga and the three Vedas worship the Supreme Lord in different ways. In the various places where the Vedas appear to recommend that one worship Indra, Varuṇa and other demigods, these demigods are stated to be supreme. But at the same time the Vedas state that there is one supreme controller, the Absolute Truth. That is Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, who expands His potency through material creation into the forms of the demigods. Thus worship of the demigods goes to Him through the indirect method of karma-kāṇḍa, or fruitive religious rituals. Ultimately, however, one who wants to achieve eternal perfection should worship the Lord directly, in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness.