Srimad Bhagavatam — Ashtama Skandha, Shloka 31
Aditi’s Lament and Kaśyapa’s Instruction of the Payo-vrata (Milk Vow) to Please Keśava
नमो द्विशीर्ष्णे त्रिपदे चतु:शृङ्गाय तन्तवे । सप्तहस्ताय यज्ञाय त्रयीविद्यात्मने नम: ॥ ३१ ॥
namo dvi-śīrṣṇe tri-pade catuḥ-śṛṅgāya tantave sapta-hastāya yajñāya trayī-vidyātmane namaḥ
I offer my respectful obeisances unto You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who have two heads [prāyaṇīya and udāyanīya], three legs [savana-traya], four horns [the four Vedas] and seven hands [the seven chandas, such as Gāyatrī]. I offer my obeisances unto You, whose heart and soul are the three Vedic rituals [karma-kāṇḍa, jñāna-kāṇḍa and upāsanā-kāṇḍa] and who expand these rituals in the form of sacrifice.
FAQs
This verse directly praises the Lord as “yajña,” indicating that sacrifice is ultimately meant for Him and that He is the inner reality and goal of all Vedic offerings.
Aditi is offering Vedic-style praises that portray the Lord as the cosmic form and the indwelling principle behind Vedic ritual—He is the sustaining “thread,” the power of yajña, and the essence of Vedic knowledge.
Offer daily actions as service—study sacred texts with humility, dedicate work and food as an offering, and remember that spiritual practice is meant to please the Supreme, not merely to perform external ritual.