Shloka 86
देवकी-विवाहः, आकाशवाणी, भूरभारावतरण-याचना, क्षीराब्धि-स्तुति, केशावतार-नियोजनम्
सुरामांसोपहारैस् तु भक्ष्यभोज्यैश् च पूजिता नॄणाम् अशेषकामांस् त्वं प्रसन्ना संप्रदास्यसि
surāmāṃsopahārais tu bhakṣyabhojyaiś ca pūjitā nṝṇām aśeṣakāmāṃs tvaṃ prasannā saṃpradāsyasi
When you are worshipped with offerings of liquor and meat, and with foods to be eaten and enjoyed, you—being pleased—will bestow upon people the complete fulfilment of their desires.
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya, within an early ritual/theological framing)
Concept: Propitiatory worship (upacāra) directed to a deity is portrayed as yielding kāmya-phala—complete fulfilment of desired ends—when the deity is pleased.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Treat worship as intentional sādhana: offer what is prescribed in your tradition with integrity, and redirect desires toward dharmic aims rather than compulsive indulgence.
Vishishtadvaita: Grace (prasāda) functions as a real, personal response of the Lord’s śakti/deity to the devotee’s act, not a merely symbolic outcome.
FAQs
The verse presents a common Purāṇic principle: when a deity is properly propitiated and becomes prasanna (gracious), they confer boons—here described as the complete fulfilment of human desires.
Parāśara frames offerings (upahāra)—including various foods—as a means of pūjā that leads to the deity’s pleasure (prasāda), which in turn becomes the causal basis for receiving blessings.
Even when the verse speaks in a general ritual register, the Vishnu Purana’s broader theology treats divine grace as sovereign: the Supreme’s satisfaction is what ultimately empowers the granting of results, not merely the mechanical act of ritual.