Verse 4.31

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 4.31:

{DEV}

nāyaṃ loko’sty ayajñasya kuto’nyaḥ kuru-sattama || 31 ||

na–not; ayam lokaḥ–this world; asti–there is; ayajñasya–for one who does not perform yajña; kutaḥ–what then?; anyaḥ–of the other world; kuru-sattama–O best of the Kurus.

O best of the Kurus, a person who does not perform sacrifice cannot even attain this Earth planet with its meagre happiness. How, then, can he attain the planets of the demigods and others?

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Ṭīkā

(By Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura; the innermost intention of the commentary named ‘the shower of essential meanings’)

By not performing sacrifice, fault (sin) is incurred. To explain this, Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa is speaking this verse beginning with nāyam. If one cannot even attain the Earth planet, which provides very little happiness, how can one attain the higher planets such as those of the demigods?

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Prakāśikā-vṛtti

(By Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja; the explanation that illuminates the commentary named Sārārtha-varṣiṇī)

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura expresses Kṛṣṇa’s mood as follows, “Therefore, Arjuna, O best of the Kurus, one who does not perform sacrifice cannot even attain this world, what to speak of the next. Therefore, sacrifice is certainly an obligatory duty. From this you should understand that the caste-rules enjoined in the Smṛtis (smārta-varṇāśrama), the eightfold yoga process, Vedic sacrifices and so on are all part of sacrifice. Even brahma-jñāna is a special type of sacrifice. There is no prescribed duty in this world other than sacrifice. Everything else is prohibited, or sinful, activity.”