Verse 1.2.87

Bengali text, Devanagari and Unicode transliteration of verse 1.2.87:

বাশুলী পূজযে কেহ নানা উপহারে মদ্য মাংস দিযা কেহ যক্ষ-পূজা করে ॥ ৮৭ ॥

वाशुली पूजये केह नाना उपहारे मद्य मांस दिया केह यक्ष-पूजा करे ॥ ८७ ॥

vāśulī pūjaye keha nānā upahāre madya māṃsa diyā keha yakṣa-pūjā kare || 87 ||

vasuli pujaye keha nana upahare madya mamsa diya keha yaksa-puja kare (87)

English translation:

(87) Some people worshiped Vāśulī (Caṇḍī or Durgā) with various ingredients, and some people worshiped the Yakṣas with meat and wine.

Commentary: Gauḍīya-bhāṣya by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura:

Every item of this world is an ingredient for the service of Lord Kṛṣṇa. People who were averse to and desiring to cheat Lord Kṛṣṇa did not accept material ingredients as suitable for Kṛṣṇa’s enjoyment or

satisfaction, rather they considered these ingredients as meant for their own sense enjoyment. They therefore offered those ingredients to Vāśulīdevī, who awards boons according to her worshipers’ desires, and various imaginary demigoddesses, who were simply instruments for fulfilling their sense gratification. They even considered abominable items like wine and meat as suitable offerings. Some of them concluded that the highest activity in life was to earn money for sense gratification. The word yakṣa-pūjā is explained as follows: Miserly persons devoid of knowledge of their relationship with the infallible Lord worship Yakṣas, who protect material wealth. Those fruitive workers who consider the mantra of Īśopaniṣad (18): agne naya supathā rāye—“O my Lord, please lead me on the right path to reach You,” as an instrument for their sense gratification engage in the worship of Yakṣas. It is stated in the Bṛhad- āraṇyaka Upaniṣad: yo vā etad akṣaraṃ gārgy aviditvāsmāḷ lokāt praiti sa kṛpaṇaḥ—“He is a miserly man who does not solve the problems of life as a human and who thus quits this world like the cats and dogs, without understanding the science of self-realization.” One may refer to the story of the astrologer and the Yakṣa in the Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, Chapter 20.

The word vāśulī is an abbreviation for the name Viśālākṣī, or Caṇḍī. The word madya refers to an intoxicating liquor, the drinking of which robs one of the power of discrimination. Wine is a liquid form of intoxication, and ganja, opium, and tobacco are smoked forms of intoxication. Both of these forms of intoxication are used for sense gratification and make one maddened.

The word māṃsa refers to a lump of flesh produced from blood, one of the seven fluids of the body. It is one of the ingredients of the gross body, which is born of semen and blood, and it is the food of demoniac people. Although it is true that the flesh of a living entity is not impure so long as the living entity is alive, the flesh taken from a dead body for the purpose of eating is certainly abominable. No one with a sense of discrimination will accept such a disgusting thing; rather, it should be rejected and

condemned like urine and stool. Living entities who are interested in eating stool, urine, semen, and blood accept such prohibited foodstuffs for their sense enjoyment. Such items can never be accepted by the demigods, who bestow happiness superior to that of the senses. In particular, the most immoral propensity of envy is attached to the eating of flesh. This is confirmed in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (11.5.11, 14) as follows: “In this material world the conditioned soul is always inclined to sex, meat-eating, and intoxication. Therefore religious scriptures never actually encourage such activities. Although the scriptural injunctions provide for sex through sacred marriage, for meat-eating through sacrificial offerings, and for intoxication through the acceptance of ritual cups of wine, such ceremonies are meant for the ultimate purpose of renunciation. Those sinful persons who are ignorant of actual religious principles, yet consider themselves to be completely pious, without compunction commit violence against innocent animals who are fully trusting in them. In their next lives, such sinful persons will be eaten by the same creatures they have killed in this world.” It is also stated in the Manu-saṃhitā (5.56): “There is no fault in eating meat, drinking liquor, or sexual intercourse, for that is the natural tendency of the living entities, but abstention yields great benefit.”

The word yakṣa refers to an apadeva, or semipious spirit, follower of Kuvera.