Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 11
Devas in Dvārakā, Brahmā’s Petition, and Uddhava’s Appeal
Prabhāsa Departure Set-Up
यश्चिन्त्यते प्रयतपाणिभिरध्वराग्नौ त्रय्या निरुक्तविधिनेश हविर्गृहीत्वा । अध्यात्मयोग उत योगिभिरात्ममायां जिज्ञासुभि: परमभागवतै: परीष्ट: ॥ ११ ॥
yaś cintyate prayata-pāṇibhir adhvarāgnau trayyā nirukta-vidhineśa havir gṛhītvā adhyātma-yoga uta yogibhir ātma-māyāṁ jijñāsubhiḥ parama-bhāgavataiḥ parīṣṭaḥ
Wer nach der in Ṛg-, Yajur- und Sāma-Veda dargelegten Vorschrift die Opfergabe ergreift und sie ins Opferfeuer darbringen will, meditiert über Deine Lotosfüße. Ebenso betrachten die Übenden des inneren Yoga Deine Füße, in der Hoffnung, Deine göttliche mystische Kraft (ātma-māyā) zu erkennen. Und die erhabensten reinen Bhāgavata-Geweihten verehren Deine Lotosfüße vollkommen, im Verlangen, jenseits Deiner māyā zu gelangen.
The words ātma-māyāṁ jijñāsubhiḥ are significant in this verse. The mystic yogīs ( adhyātma-yoga uta yogibhiḥ ) are eager to acquire knowledge of the Lord’s mystic potencies, whereas the pure devotees ( parama-bhāgavataiḥ ) are eager to cross beyond the kingdom of illusion so that they can serve Lord Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet in pure loving ecstasy. In any case, everyone is interested in the potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The atheistic material scientists are also fascinated by the external material potency of the Lord, and the gross sense gratifiers are attracted by the physical body, which is also ātma-māyā, or an expansion of the Lord’s potency. Although all of the Lord’s potencies are qualitatively one with the Lord, and therefore with each other, the blissful spiritual potency is nevertheless supreme because it establishes relationships between the Lord and the pure living entities on the platform of eternal happiness. Every living entity is originally a loving servitor of the Lord, and the spiritual energy of the Lord engages the living entity in his pure constitutional position beyond illusion.
FAQs
This verse says the Lord is contemplated in the sacrificial fire and accepts oblations offered according to Vedic hymns and proper procedure—showing yajña is meant for pleasing and realizing the Supreme Lord.
Krishna explains that different seekers approach Him through different disciplines—ritual sacrifice, inner yoga, and devotional inquiry—yet the ultimate aim is the same: knowing and reaching Him.
Offer your work and daily actions as an offering to God (the spirit of yajña), and combine it with inner practice (self-study, meditation, prayer) while keeping the goal as loving devotion and genuine inquiry into the Supreme.