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
Wenn alle gegessen haben—Arme, Blinde, Geizige und andere—, soll der Ausführende des Yajña, im Wissen, dass Viṣṇu sehr erfreut ist, wenn alle reichlich mit Viṣṇu-Prasāda gespeist werden, danach selbst Prasāda zusammen mit Verwandten und Freunden zu sich nehmen.
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.