Srimad Bhagavatam — Ashtama Skandha, Shloka 56
Aditi’s Lament and Kaśyapa’s Instruction of the Payo-vrata (Milk Vow) to Please Keśava
भुक्तवत्सु च सर्वेषु दीनान्धकृपणादिषु । विष्णोस्तत्प्रीणनं विद्वान्भुञ्जीत सह बन्धुभि: ॥ ५६ ॥
bhuktavatsu ca sarveṣu dīnāndha-kṛpaṇādiṣu viṣṇos tat prīṇanaṁ vidvān bhuñjīta saha bandhubhiḥ
One should distribute viṣṇu-prasāda to everyone, including the poor man, the blind man, the nondevotee and the non-brāhmaṇa. Knowing that Lord Viṣṇu is very pleased when everyone is sumptuously fed with viṣṇu-prasāda, the performer of yajña should then take prasāda with his friends and relatives.
FAQs
This verse teaches that feeding the poor, blind, and other distressed persons is a way to please Lord Viṣṇu, and only after such service should one eat, as sanctified prasāda.
In the Bhagavatam’s devotional ethic, eating becomes spiritually meaningful when it follows service and offerings meant to satisfy Viṣṇu—turning one’s meal into prasāda rather than mere enjoyment.
Before personal consumption, set aside food or resources for the needy, support prasāda distribution, and cultivate the mood that one’s household eating is connected to service and gratitude to Viṣṇu.