SB 4.7.41 · Srimad Bhagavatam

Devanagari

अग्निरुवाच यत्तेजसाहं सुसमिद्धतेजा हव्यं वहे स्वध्वर आज्यसिक्तम् । तं यज्ञियं पञ्चविधं च पञ्चभि: स्विष्टं यजुर्भि: प्रणतोऽस्मि यज्ञम् ॥ ४१ ॥

Verse text

agnir uvāca yat-tejasāhaṁ susamiddha-tejā havyaṁ vahe svadhvara ājya-siktam taṁ yajṣiyaṁ paṣca-vidhaṁ ca paṣcabhiḥ sviṣṭaṁ yajurbhiḥ praṇato ’smi yajṣam

Synonyms

agniḥ — the fire-god ; uvāca — said ; yat — tejasā — by whose effulgence ; aham — I ; su — samiddha — tejāḥ — as luminous as blazing fire ; havyam — offerings ; vahe — I am accepting ; su — adhvare — in the sacrifice ; ājya — siktam — mixed with butter ; tam — that ; yajṣiyam — the protector of the sacrifice ; paṣca — vidham — five ; ca — and ; paṣcabhiḥ — by five ; su — iṣṭam — worshiped ; yajurbhiḥ — Vedic hymns ; praṇataḥ — offer respectful obeisances ; asmi — I ; yajṣam — to Yajṣa (Viṣṇu) .

Translation

The fire-god said: My dear Lord, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You because by Your favor I am as luminous as blazing fire and I accept the offerings mixed with butter and offered in sacrifice. The five kinds of offerings according to the Yajur Veda are all Your different energies, and You are worshiped by five kinds of Vedic hymns. Sacrifice means You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Agni said: I offer respects to you, sacrifice personified, worshipped by five types of verses, who act for the benefit of sacrifice soaked in ghee which has five forms, by whose power I, bright with fuel, carry the oblation in the sacrifice. Fire of the sacrificial fire speaks. I just carry the offering in the best sacrifice, but I do not know the truth about you. This statement is directed to the sacrificers who think they have knowledge. You are beneficial to the sacrifice (yajṣiyam). In the Aitareya the five types of sacrifice are mentioned: agnihotra, darśa-paurṇamāsa, cāturmāsya, paśu and soma. (Śata-patha-brāhmaṇa) You are worshipped by five types of mantras. Śruti says āśrāvayeti catur-akṣaraṁ astu śrauṣaḍ iti catur-akṣaraṁ yajeti dvābhyāṁ ye yajāmaha iti paṣcākṣaraṁ dvyakṣaro vaṣaṭkāra: there is the four syllable mantra āśrāvaya, the four syllable mantra astu śṛauṣaṭ, the two syllable mantra yaja, the five syllable mantra ye yajāmahe, and the two syllable mantra vaṣaṭ. (Śata-patha-brāhmaṇa 12.3.3.3) Smṛti says: caturbhiś caturbhiś ca dvābhyāṁ paṣcabhir eva ca hūyate ca punar dvābhyāṁ sa me viṣṇuḥ prasīdatu May Viṣṇu be pleased with me by the four syllable mantra, the four syllable mantra, the two syllable mantra, the five syllable mantra and the two syllable mantra. Yajṣaḥ means the form of sacrifice.

Purport

In Bhagavad-gītā it is clearly said that yajṣa should be performed for Lord Viṣṇu. Lord Viṣṇu has one thousand popular transcendental names, out of which one name is Yajṣa. It is clearly said that everything should be done for the satisfaction of Yajṣa, or Viṣṇu; all other actions a person may take are only causes for his bondage. Everyone has to perform yajṣa according to the Vedic hymns. As stated in the Upaniṣads, fire, the altar, the auspicious full moon, the period of four months called cāturmāsya, the sacrificial animal, and the beverage called soma are necessary requisites, as are the specific hymns mentioned in the Vedas and composed of four letters. One hymn is as follows: āśrāvayeti catur-akṣaraṁ astu śrauṣaḍ iti catur-akṣaraṁ yajeti dvābhyāṁ ye yajāmahaḥ. These mantras, chanted according to the śruti and smṛti literatures, are only to please Lord Viṣṇu. For the deliverance of those who are materially conditioned and attached to material enjoyment, performing yajṣa and following the rules and regulations of the four divisions of society and of spiritual life are recommended. It is said in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa that by offering sacrifice to Viṣṇu one can gradually be liberated. The whole target of life, therefore, is to please Lord Viṣṇu. That is yajṣa. Any person who is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness has dedicated his life for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa, the origin of all Viṣṇu forms, and by offering worship and prasāda daily, he becomes the best performer of yajṣa. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is clearly stated that in this Age of Kali the only successful performance of yajṣa, or sacrifice, is yajṣaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyaiḥ: the best type of sacrifice is simply to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. This yajṣa is offered before the form of Lord Caitanya, as other yajṣas are offered before the form of Lord Viṣṇu. These recommendations are found in the Eleventh Canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Moreover, this yajṣa performance confirms that Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Viṣṇu Himself. As Lord Viṣṇu appeared at the Dakṣa yajṣa long, long ago, Lord Caitanya has appeared in this age to accept our saṅkīrtana-yajṣa.