Shloka 10
The Brāhmaṇas’ Wives Blessed (Brāhmaṇa-patnī-prasāda) — Ritualism Humbled by Bhakti
देश: काल: पृथग्द्रव्यं मन्त्रतन्त्रर्त्विजोऽग्नय: । देवता यजमानश्च क्रतुर्धर्मश्च यन्मय: ॥ १० ॥ तं ब्रह्म परमं साक्षाद् भगवन्तमधोक्षजम् । मनुष्यदृष्ट्या दुष्प्रज्ञा मर्त्यात्मानो न मेनिरे ॥ ११ ॥
deśaḥ kālaḥ pṛthag dravyaṁ mantra-tantrartvijo ’gnayaḥ devatā yajamānaś ca kratur dharmaś ca yan-mayaḥ
The place and time of sacrifice, its paraphernalia, mantras and rites, the priests and sacred fires, the presiding devas, the sponsor, the offering and the unseen fruit—all are but facets of His own opulence. Yet those brāhmaṇas, their intelligence distorted and their hearts bound to the mortal body, looked upon Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Adhokṣaja beyond material sense, as an ordinary man and failed to recognize Him as the Supreme Brahman, Bhagavān directly manifest.
The ritualistic brāhmaṇas could not understand why the sacrificial food should be offered to Lord Kṛṣṇa, whom they considered an ordinary human being. Just as a person with rose-colored glasses sees the entire world as rose-colored, a conditioned soul with mundane vision sees even God Himself as mundane and thus loses the opportunity to go back home, back to Godhead.
FAQs
This verse teaches that all aspects of yajña—time, place, mantras, priests, fires, deities, and the sponsor—are ultimately pervaded by Bhagavān; sacrifice is meant to be connected to Him, not treated as independent ritualism.
Because Bhagavān is the underlying reality and controller of dharma and yajña; the ritual components have meaning and power only through His presence and sanction.
Offer one’s actions, time, and resources in remembrance of Kṛṣṇa—doing duty as an offering—so that daily life becomes spiritually connected rather than merely mechanical.