Devanagari
जुह्वन्तं च वितानाग्नीन् यजन्तं पञ्चभिर्मखै: ।
भोजयन्तं द्विजान् क्वापि भुञ्जानमवशेषितम् ॥ २४ ॥
Verse text
juhvantaṁ ca vitānāgnīn
yajantaṁ paṣcabhir makhaiḥ
bhojayantaṁ dvijān kvāpi
bhuṣjānam avaśeṣitam
Synonyms
juhvantam
—
offering oblations
;
ca
—
and
;
vitāna
—
agnīn — to the sacrificial fires
;
yajantam
—
worshiping
;
paṣcabhiḥ
—
five
;
makhaiḥ
—
with the obligatory rituals
;
bhojayantam
—
feeding
;
dvijān
—
brāhmaṇas
;
kva api
—
somewhere
;
bhuṣjānam
—
eating
;
avaśeṣitam
—
remnants .
Translation
In one place the Lord was offering oblations into the sacrificial fires; in another, worshiping through the five mahā-yajṣas; in another, feeding brāhmaṇas; and in yet another, eating the remnants of food left by brāhmaṇas.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
In one place the Lord was offering oblations into the sacrificial fires; in another, worshiping through the five mahā-yajṣas; in another, feeding brāhmaṇas; and in yet another, eating the remnants of food left by brāhmaṇas.
KB 10.69.24
In one palace he found Kṛṣṇa offering oblations to the sacrificial fire and performing the ritualistic ceremonies of the Vedas as enjoined for householders. In another palace he found Kṛṣṇa performing the paṣca-yajṣa sacrifice, which is compulsory for a householder. This yajṣa is also known as paṣca-sūnā. Knowingly or unknowingly, everyone, especially the householder, commits five kinds of sinful activities. When we receive water from a water pitcher, we kill many germs that are in it. Similarly, when we use a grinding machine or eat food, we kill many germs. When sweeping a floor or igniting a fire we kill many germs, and when we walk on the street we kill many ants and other insects. Consciously or unconsciously, in all our different activities, we are killing. Therefore, it is incumbent upon every householder to perform the paṣca-sūnā sacrifice to rid himself of the reactions to such sinful activities.
In one palace Nārada found Lord Kṛṣṇa feeding brāhmaṇas after performing ritualistic yajṣas.
Purport
The five
mahā-yajṣas,
or great sacrifices, are defined as follows:
pāṭho homaś cātithīnāṁ saparyā tarpaṇaṁ baliḥ
— “reciting the
Vedas,
offering oblations into the sacrificial fire, waiting on guests, making offerings to the forefathers, and offering [a share of one’s food] to living entities in general.”
Śrīla Prabhupāda comments as follows on these sacrifices: “In another palace Kṛṣṇa was found performing the
paṣca-yajṣa
sacrifice, which is compulsory for a householder. This
yajṣa
is also known as
paṣca-sūnā.
Knowingly or unknowingly, everyone, specifically the householder, is committing five kinds of sinful activities. When we receive water from a water pitcher, we kill many germs that are in it. Similarly, when we use a grinding machine or take foodstuffs, we kill many germs. When sweeping the floor or igniting a fire we kill many germs, and when we walk on the street we kill many ants and other insects. Consciously or unconsciously, in all our different activities, we are killing. Therefore, it is incumbent upon every householder to perform the
paṣca-sūnā
sacrifice to rid himself of the reactions to such sinful activities.”
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī, in his commentary on this verse, again points out that all the different times of the day were occurring simultaneously in Lord Kṛṣṇa’s palaces. Thus Nārada saw a fire sacrifice — a morning ritual — and at about the same time he saw Lord Kṛṣṇa feeding the
brāhmaṇas
and accepting their remnants — a noontime activity.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
In one palace he was offering oblations in the avahaniya (vitana) fire. There, it was morning before noon. In another palace he was performing the five maha yajnas: reading the Vedas, sacrifice , serving guests, tarpana and offerings to the animals. In that house it was noon. In another house he was feeding others and eating. There it was afternoon.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
The five mahā-yajñas are pāṭho homaś cātithīnāṁ saparyā tarpaṇaṁ baliḥ: reciting the Vedas, offering oblations into the sacrificial fire, waiting on guests, making offerings to the forefathers, and offering food to living entities in general. He performed worship through these five sacrifices.
He ate food remnants. The last are actions performed at noon.
Purport (Sanatana Goswami)
The five mahā-yajñas are pāṭho homaś cātithīnāṁ saparyā tarpaṇaṁ baliḥ: reciting the Vedas, offering oblations into the sacrificial fire, waiting on guests, making offerings to the forefathers, and offering food to living entities in general. He performed worship through these five sacrifices. These are actions of midday. Thus Nārada arrived at noon. Or in talking to Kṛṣṇa, noon passed.