Srimad Bhagavatam — Dvitiya Skandha, Shloka 7
Karmic Aspirations, Demigod Worship, and the Supreme Duty of Bhakti
Hari-kathā as Life’s True Gain
ब्रह्मवर्चसकामस्तु यजेत ब्रह्मण: पतिम् । इन्द्रमिन्द्रियकामस्तु प्रजाकाम: प्रजापतीन् ॥ २ ॥ देवीं मायां तु श्रीकामस्तेजस्कामो विभावसुम् । वसुकामो वसून रुद्रान् वीर्यकामोऽथ वीर्यवान् ॥ ३ ॥ अन्नाद्यकामस्त्वदितिं स्वर्गकामोऽदिते:सुतान् । विश्वान्देवान् राज्यकाम: साध्यान्संसाधको विशाम् ॥ ४ ॥ आयुष्कामोऽश्विनौ देवौ पुष्टिकाम इलां यजेत् । प्रतिष्ठाकाम: पुरुषो रोदसी लोकमातरौ ॥ ५ ॥ रूपाभिकामो गन्धर्वान् स्त्रीकामोऽप्सर उर्वशीम् । आधिपत्यकाम: सर्वेषां यजेत परमेष्ठिनम् ॥ ६ ॥ यज्ञं यजेद् यशस्काम: कोशकाम: प्रचेतसम् । विद्याकामस्तु गिरिशं दाम्पत्यार्थ उमां सतीम् ॥ ७ ॥
brahma-varcasa-kāmas tu yajeta brahmaṇaḥ patim indram indriya-kāmas tu prajā-kāmaḥ prajāpatīn
欲求梵辉者，当礼敬吠陀之主；欲求感官之乐者，当礼敬天帝因陀罗；欲求子嗣者，当礼敬诸生主。欲求吉祥富贵者，当礼敬女神摩耶（杜尔迦）；欲求威力者，当礼敬火神阿耆尼；欲求财宝者，当礼敬诸瓦苏；欲求英勇者，当礼敬诸鲁陀罗。欲求粮谷丰盈者，当礼敬阿底提；欲求升天者，当礼敬阿底提之子；欲求王国者，当礼敬毗湿瓦诸天；欲求民众爱戴者，当礼敬萨提亚诸神。欲求长寿者，当礼敬阿湿毗尼双神；欲求体魄强健者，当礼敬大地；欲求职位稳固者，当礼敬天与地。欲求容貌美丽者，当礼敬乾闼婆；欲求良妻者，当礼敬天女乌尔瓦希；欲求统御者，当礼敬宇宙之首梵天（帕拉梅什提）。欲求名声者，当为至上主行祭；欲求宝库者，当礼敬普罗切塔斯（伐楼那）；欲求学识者，当礼敬吉利沙湿婆；欲求婚姻和合者，当礼敬贞洁的乌玛·萨蒂。
There are different modes of worship for different persons desiring success in particular subjects. The conditioned soul living within the purview of the material world cannot be an expert in every type of materially enjoyable asset, but one can have considerable influence over a particular matter by worshiping a particular demigod, as mentioned above. Rāvaṇa was made a very powerful man by worshiping Lord Śiva, and he used to offer severed heads to please Lord Śiva. He became so powerful by the grace of Lord Śiva that all the demigods were afraid of him, until he at last challenged the Personality of Godhead Śrī Rāmacandra and thus ruined himself. In other words, all such persons who aspire after gaining some or all of the material objects of enjoyment, or the gross materialistic persons, are on the whole less intelligent, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.20) . It is said there that those who are bereft of all good sense, or those whose intelligence is withdrawn by the deluding energy of māyā, aspire to achieve all sorts of material enjoyment in life by pleasing the various demigods, or by advancing in material civilization under the heading of scientific progress. The real problem of life in the material world is to solve the question of birth, death, old age and disease. No one wants to change his birthright, no one wants to meet death, no one wants to be old or invalid, and no one wants diseases. But these problems are solved neither by the grace of any demigod nor by the so-called advancement of material science. In the Bhagavad-gītā, as well as in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, such less intelligent persons have been described as devoid of all good sense. Śukadeva Gosvāmī said that out of the 8,400,000 species of living entities, the human form of life is rare and valuable, and out of those rare human beings those who are conscious of the material problems are rarer still, and the still more rare persons are those who are conscious of the value of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which contains the messages of the Lord and His pure devotees. Death is inevitable for everyone, intelligent or foolish. But Parīkṣit Mahārāja has been addressed by the Gosvāmī as the manīṣī, or the man of highly developed mind, because at the time of death he left all material enjoyment and completely surrendered unto the lotus feet of the Lord by hearing His messages from the right person, Śukadeva Gosvāmī. But aspirations for material enjoyment by endeavoring persons are condemned. Such aspirations are something like the intoxication of the degraded human society. Intelligent persons should try to avoid these aspirations and seek instead the permanent life by returning home, back to Godhead.
FAQs
This verse lists traditional prescriptions: fame through Yajña, wealth through Varuṇa (Pracetas), learning through Śiva, and marital harmony through Umā (Satī), showing how Vedic worship is often aligned with particular goals.
In Canto 2, Śukadeva explains graded spiritual practices—how people approach the divine with material aims—while guiding Parīkṣit toward the higher conclusion of exclusive devotion to the Supreme Lord.
Recognize your motivations in spiritual practice; then gradually refine them—moving from goal-driven prayer toward steadier devotion, gratitude, and surrender to the Supreme.