Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 8.7.26
Īśānukathā· The Lord and His devoteesThe Lord Accepts Offerings Through Fire
“O father of all planets, learned scholars know that fire is your mouth, the surface of the globe is your lotus feet, eternal time is your movement, all the directions are your ears, and Varuṇa, master of the waters, is your tongue.”
What the purport teaches
- Learned scholars describe fire as the lord’s mouth and the earth’s surface as his lotus feet. Eternal time is his movement, the directions his ears, and Varuṇa his tongue.
- The śruti-mantras state that fire is the aggregate of all demigods.
- Agni is the mouth of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Through Agni, or fire, the Lord accepts all sacrificial oblations.
Try this today
Read the final study point aloud, focusing on the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the receiver of offerings.
Ask yourself
How does this teaching shift your attention from an offering’s outward form to the Lord who accepts it?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.