Verse 7.22

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 7.22:

स तया श्रद्धया युक्तस् तस्याराधनम् ईहते ।
लभते च ततः कामान् मयैव विहितान् हि तान् ॥ २२ ॥

sa tayā śraddhayā yuktas tasyārādhanam īhate |
labhate ca tataḥ kāmān mayaiva vihitān hi tān || 22 ||

saḥ–he; tayā śraddhayā–with that faith; yuktaḥ–endowed; tasya–of that demigod; arādhanam–the worship; īhate–tries to perform; labhate–he attains; ca–and; tataḥ–thereby; kāmān–his desires; mayā–by Me in the form of the indwelling witness; eva–in actuality; vihitān–granted; hi–alone; tān–those.

Endowed with such faith, he attempts to worship that particular demigod and thus attains the fulfilment of his desires, which in actuality is granted by Me alone.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Ṭīkā

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

Īhate means ‘he does’. They attain their desired ends by worshipping the respective demigods, but in actuality those demigods are not able to fulfil those desires. Therefore, Śrī Bhagavān says, māyaiva vihitān. “In reality, those desires are fulfilled by Me alone.”

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Prakāśikā-vṛtti

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

Some think that if they wor-ship the demigods, they will obtain the fruits of their desires by the mercy of that demigod. But from this verse it is clear that the demi-gods are unable to award the results of worship performed to them. Those who worship the demigods can obtain their desired results only when their worship is sanctioned by Bhagavān, but such ignorant people cannot understand that it is Śrī Bhagavān as the indwelling witness who has fulfilled their desires. Here it is seen that the demigods cannot generate faith in themselves even among their own worshippers. Similarly, they cannot independently award the results of fruitive activities unless Antaryāmī Śrī Bhagavān sanctions it.