SB 11.17.50 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

वेदाध्यायस्वधास्वाहाबल्यन्नाद्यैर्यथोदयम् । देवर्षिपितृभूतानि मद्रूपाण्यन्वहं यजेत् ॥ ५० ॥

Verse text

vedādhyāya-svadhā-svāhā- baly-annādyair yathodayam devarṣi-pitṛ-bhūtāni mad-rūpāṇy anv-ahaṁ yajet

Synonyms

veda — adhyāya — by study of Vedic knowledge ; svadhā — by offering the mantra svadhā ; svāhā — by offering the mantra svāhā ; bali — by token offerings of food ; anna — ādyaiḥ — by offering grains, water, etc. ; yathā — according to ; udayam — one’s prosperity ; deva — the demigods ; ṛṣi — sages ; pitṛ — the forefathers ; bhūtāni — and all living entities ; mat — rūpāṇi — manifestations of My potency ; anu — aham — daily ; yajet — one should worship .

Translation

One in the gṛhastha order of life should daily worship the sages by Vedic study, the forefathers by offering the mantra svadhā, the demigods by chanting svāhā, all living entities by offering shares of one’s meals, and human beings by offering grains and water. Thus considering the demigods, sages, forefathers, living entities and human beings to be manifestations of My potency, one should daily perform these five sacrifices.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

According to ones wealth, the householder should daily worship the sages by Vedic study, the forefathers by making offerings with the word svadhā, the devatās by making offerings with the word svāhā, all living entities by offering shares of one’s meals, and human beings by offering grains and water. The sages, Pitṛs, devatās, humans and other entities are my forms. Occupations during calamity were described. Now the obligatory actions of the householder are described. One worships the sages by study of the Vedas, the Pitṛs by offerings with svadhā, the devatās by offerings with svāhā, all beings by an offering, and humans by giving food and water, according to one’s wealth. One should see them as the Lord.

Purport

The Lord again discusses the duties of those in the household order of life. Obviously, the five ritualistic daily sacrifices mentioned here are meant for those who are not pure devotees of the Lord and who thus have to counteract their exploitation of material nature by the abovementioned sacrifices. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is training householders, sannyāsīs, brahmacārīs and vānaprasthas to engage twenty-four hours a day in the loving service of the Lord. Those who are full-time missionary workers in ISKCON have no further obligations or sacrifices to perform, as confirmed in the Eleventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.41) : devarṣi-bhūtāpta-nṛṇāṁ pitṝṇāṁ na kiṅkaro nāyam ṛṇī ca rājan sarvātmanā yaḥ śaraṇaṁ śaraṇyaṁ gato mukundaṁ parihṛtya kartam “Anyone who has taken shelter at the lotus feet of Mukunda, the giver of liberation, giving up all kinds of obligation, and has taken to the path in all seriousness, owes neither duties nor obligations to the demigods, sages, general living entities, family members, humankind or forefathers.”