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Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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Canto 5 · The Creative Impetus · 26 chapters

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How to study this verse, in six steps
  1. 1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
  2. 2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
  3. 3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
  4. 4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
  5. 5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
  6. 6Write down what touched you. Note the main points in your own notebook.
Read the full guide: how to hear the Bhāgavatam ›
Canto 5 · Chapter 20: Studying the Structure of the Universe
5.20.165.20.18

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 5.20.17

Āśraya· The supreme shelter
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:Śukadeva Gosvāmīsince 5.20.1inside 2 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King Parīkṣit

परस्य ब्रह्मण: साक्षाज्जातवेदोऽसि हव्यवाट् ।

देवानां पुरुषाङ्गानां यज्ञेन पुरुषं यजेति ॥ १७ ॥

parasya brahmaṇaḥ sākṣāj

jāta-vedo ’si havyavāṭ

devānāṁ puruṣāṅgānāṁ

yajñena puruṣaṁ yajeti

Translation

[This is the mantra by which the inhabitants of Kuśadvīpa worship the fire-god.] O fire-god, you are a part of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, and you carry to Him all the offerings of sacrifices. Therefore we request you to offer to the Supreme Personality of Godhead the yajñic ingredients we are offering the demigods, for the Lord is the real enjoyer.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Supreme Lord Is the Real Enjoyer

  1. 1

    The fire-god is a part of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, and carries sacrificial offerings to Him. The Lord is the real enjoyer.

  2. 2

    The demigods are servants who carry offerings to the Supreme Lord, like tax collectors bringing revenue to the government’s treasury. Similarly, the guru, as the Lord’s representative, carries to Him whatever is offered.

  3. 3

    The purport finds no fault in demigod worship performed with this understanding. To regard the demigods as independent of the Supreme Lord, equal to Him or themselves the actual benefactors is mistaken.

Key points from the purport
  • The demigods are servants who assist the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • If one worships the demigods, the demigods, as servants of the Supreme, carry the sacrificial offerings to the Lord, like tax collectors collecting revenue from the citizens and bringing it to the government’s treasury.
  • Similarly, all the demigods, as faithful servants of the Supreme Lord, hand over to the Supreme Lord whatever is offered to them in sacrificial performances.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

How it feels

Smallness → Awe and reverence. A vast cosmos changes the reader's perspective.

Chapters 15–25 of Canto 5: The cosmic regions and divine worship. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 20: Studying the Structure of the Universe

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Its master is Hiraṇyaretā, another son of Mahārāja Priyavrata, and its inhabitants worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the form of Agni, the fire-god. The width of this island is 6,400,000 miles, or, in other words, twice the width of Sālmalīdvīpa.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in chapter 5.20
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. parasyaof the Supreme
  2. brahmaṇaḥBrahman
  3. sākṣātdirectly
  4. jāta-vedaḥO fire-god
  5. asiyou are
  6. havyavāṭthe carrier of Vedic offerings of grains and ghee
  7. devānāmof all the demigods
  8. puruṣa-aṅgānāmwho are limbs of the Supreme Person
3

Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Āśraya · The summum bonum

    Who is the shelter of everything? · Subject 10 of 10

  • Bhakti · Devotion and loving service

    How devotion reorganizes desire and action. · Theme in SB 5.20

    In this verse: “worship”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 5.20

    In this verse: “understanding”

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 5.20

    In this verse: “government’s”

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

When you make an offering, whom do you understand to be its ultimate recipient?

Practice

Before an act of worship today, pause and remember that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the real enjoyer.

Live this todayThe Supreme Lord Is the Real EnjoyerThis verse's lesson: one practice and one question for today

Study points are short summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport on Vedabase.

Ask the BhāgavatamHave a question about SB 5.20.17? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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