Shrimad Bhagavad-gita

by Narayana Gosvami | 2013 | 327,105 words

The Bhagavad-gita Verse 9.23, English translation, including the Vaishnava commentaries Sarartha-varsini-tika, Prakashika-vritti and Rasika-ranjana (excerpts). This is verse 23 from the chapter 9 called “Raja-guhya-yoga (Yoga through the most Confidential Knowledge)”

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 9.23:

येऽप्य् अन्य-देवता-भक्ता यजन्ते श्रद्धयान्विताः ।
तेऽपि माम् एव कौन्तेय यजन्त्य् अविधि-पूर्वकम् ॥ २३ ॥

ye'py anya-devatā-bhaktā yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ |
te'pi mām eva kaunteya yajanty avidhi-pūrvakam
|| 23 ||

ye–who; api–although; anya-devatā–other demigods; bhaktāḥ–devotees; yajante–worship; śraddhayā anvitāḥ–with faith; te–they; api–also; mām–Me; eva–certainly; kaunteya–O son of Kuntī; yajanti–worship; avidhi-pūrvakam–in a way that is contrary to the injunctions for attaining Me.

O son of Kuntī, those who worship the various demigods with faith actually worship Me alone, but in a way that is unauthorized.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Ṭīkā

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

The following doubt may be raised: “In accordance with Bhagavad-gītā (9.15)–jñāna-yajñena cāpy anye–You said that worship of You is of three types. The statement bahudhā viśvatomukham explains the third type, worship of Your universal form. You revealed the nature of that form in statements such as, ‘I am sacrifice, I am the Vedic ritual, etc.’ (Gītā 9.16–19). No demigod exists independently from You;such is the nature of Your universal form. It can be concluded from this that those who worship demigods such as Indra are in fact worshipping You, so why will they not be liberated? Furthermore, You have said that those who have material desires become entangled in the cycle of birth and death (Gītā 9.21) and attain perishable results. Why is this so?”

In response, Śrī Bhagavān says, “It is true that they worship Me, but they do so without following the prescribed rules to attain Me. They therefore remain in the material world.”

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Prakāśikā-vṛtti

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

The following point may be raised: “The demigods are Bhagavān’s vibhūti-svarūpa (forms of opulence) and the limbs of His body. However the devotees of the demigods perform their worship, ultimately it reaches Bhagavān. Those who worship the demigods attain the planets of the particular demigods they worship, and after enjoying the perishable fruits there, they return to this earthly plane. The unalloyed worshippers of Śrī Bhagavān, however, do not return to this material world after attaining service to Śrī Bhagavān in His eternal abode. If both types of worship are meant for Bhagavān, why do their end results differ?”

In response to this, Śrī Kṛṣṇa is explaining to Arjuna, “The demigods are not separate from Me nor are they independent of Me. The worship of those who consider them as such is unauthorized.”

This subject is also clearly explained in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (4.31.14):

yathā taror mūla-niṣecanena tṛpyanti tat-sk [?] Sandha-bhujopaśākhāḥ
prāṇopahārāc ca yathendriyāṇāṃ tathaiva sarvārhaṇam acyutejyā

By properly watering the root of a tree, its trunk, branches, twigs, leaves, flowers and so forth all become nourished, just as a person’s life-air and senses are nourished by eating. Similarly, by worshipping Bhagavān Acyuta, everyone, including all the demigods, is worshipped.

The essence of Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura’s commentary on this verse is that by watering the root of a tree, its branches and twigs become nourished, but that same result is not achieved by pouring water on its leaves, branches, fruits and flowers. Somebody may say that there is no harm in giving water to the branches as well as to the root of a tree; rather there is some benefit. Consequently, if one worships the demigods and also worships Śrī Kṛṣṇa, then what is the harm? In response to this another example is given. The life-air is sustained by supplying food to the stomach; thus all of the body’s organs and senses become nourished. However, if one gives food to the ears, eyes and nose, then one will become deaf and blind and ultimately one will die. In the same way, by worshipping the various demigods, considering them independent gods, one will only attain adverse results. The authorized process, therefore, is to exclusively worship Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

Moreover, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.40.9–10) says:

sarva eva yajanti tvāṃ sarva-deva-mayeśvaram
ye’py anya-devatā-bhaktā yady apy anya-dhiyaḥ prabho
yathādri-prabhavā nadyaḥ parjanyāpūritāḥ prabho
viśanti sarvataḥ sindhuṃ tadvat tvāṃ gatayo’ntataḥ

When reading these verses, most people will understand them to contain the following meaning: “Just as rivers flowing from the mountains become filled with rain water, divide into various branches and enter the one ocean from various directions, in the same way, the worship of various demigods ultimately culminates in worship of Śrī Bhagavān alone. Subsequently, by worshipping the demigods, one will also receive the result of worshipping Śrī Kṛṣṇa.” However, this understanding is not correct. The essence of Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura’s commentary on the above two verses is as follows: “Karmīs, yogīs and others actually worship Me exclusively, because I alone am the embodiment of all the demigods and I am the Supreme Controller of all controllers. A person who thinks, ‘I am worshipping Śiva, I am worshipping the sun-god Sūrya, I am worshipping Gaṇeśa,’ considering himself to be devoted to them, factually only worships Me. However, if it is said that in this way they worship Me alone and as a result will surely attain Me, it is not so. The worship performed by them certainly comes to Me, but the worshippers do not. The rivers flowing from the mountains become full of rain water. The clouds pour forth water all over the mountains and eventually this water takes the form of rivers. All the rivers take their independent courses through different places, and finally enter the ocean. The rivers coming from the mountains enter the ocean, but their source, the mountain, does not. In the same way, worship performed by persons practising various processes comes to Me alone. However, their source, the worshipper, does not.”

Here, Śrī Bhagavān is compared to the ocean, the Vedas to the clouds, the various types of processes of worship to the water, the worshippers to the mountain and the various demigods to the different places. Just as rivers pass through various lands and enter the ocean, the worship of various demigods comes to Śrī Viṣṇu, and just as the mountain does not reach the ocean, the worshipper of the demigods does not reach Śrī Viṣṇu.

Worship of different demigods involves different processes that are performed by persons of varying qualification, and the worshippers are known by the names of those various types of worship. Ultimately, however, their worship comes to Śrī Viṣṇu, through the medium of the demigods. Through this worship, a person only attains his own worshipable demigod and a temporary position. He does not attain eternal service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the eternal abode.

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura quotes Kṛṣṇa as saying, “In reality, I, the embodiment of eternality, cognizance and concentrated bliss (sac-cid-ānanda), am the only Supreme Controller, Parameśvara. There is no demigod independent of Me. In My own svarūpa, I am the transcendental sac-cid-ānanda Reality, eternally beyond the material creation. Many persons worship demigods such as the sun-god Sūrya. In other words, conditioned human beings in the material world venerate the majestic feature of My deluding material potency in the form of various demigods and worship them. But by proper deliberation it can be understood that My vibhūtis, the demigods, are simply My incarnations of the modes of nature (guṇa-avatāras). Those who worship these demigods, knowing their actual position and the reality of My svarūpa, understand them to be My guṇa-avatāras (incarnations presiding over material qualities). In this way, their worship is authorized as the progressive path. But those who worship the demigods, thinking them to be eternal and independent of Me, worship in an unauthorized way. Because of this they do not achieve eternal results.”

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