SB 2.7.11 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

सत्रे ममास भगवान् हयशीरषाथो साक्षात् स यज्ञपुरुषस्तपनीयवर्ण: । छन्दोमयो मखमयोऽखिलदेवतात्मा वाचो बभूवुरुशती: श्वसतोऽस्य नस्त: ॥ ११ ॥

Verse text

satre mamāsa bhagavān haya-śīraṣātho sākṣāt sa yajṣa-puruṣas tapanīya-varṇaḥ chandomayo makhamayo ’khila-devatātmā vāco babhūvur uśatīḥ śvasato ’sya nastaḥ

Synonyms

satre — in the sacrificial ceremony ; mama — of mine ; āsa — appeared ; bhagavān — the Personality of Godhead ; haya — śīraṣā — with His horselike head ; atha — thus ; sākṣāt — directly ; saḥ — He ; yajṣa — puruṣaḥ — the person who is pleased by performances of sacrifice ; tapanīya — golden ; varṇaḥ — hue ; chandaḥ — mayaḥ — personified Vedic hymns ; makha — mayaḥ — personified sacrifices ; akhila — all that be ; devatā — ātmā — the soul of the demigods ; vācaḥ — sounds ; babhūvuḥ — become audible ; uśatīḥ — very pleasing to hear ; śvasataḥ — while breathing ; asya — His ; nastaḥ — through the nostrils .

Translation

The Lord appeared as the Hayagrīva incarnation in a sacrifice performed by me [Brahmā]. He is the personified sacrifices, and the hue of His body is golden. He is the personified Vedas as well, and the Supersoul of all demigods. When He breathed, all the sweet sounds of the Vedic hymns came out of His nostrils.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

At my sacrifice the Lord, the very form of sacrifice, golden in color, appeared as Hayagrīva. From the breathing of his nostrils the charming Vedas, complete with meters, sacrifices and prayers to the devatās, appeared.

Purport

The Vedic hymns are generally meant for sacrifices performed by fruitive workers who also want to satisfy the demigods to achieve their fruitive result. But the Lord is the personified sacrifices and personified Vedic hymns. Therefore one who is directly a devotee of the Lord is a person who has automatically both served the purposes of sacrifices and pleased the demigods. The devotees of the Lord may not perform any sacrifice or may not please the demigods as per Vedic injunctions, and still the devotees are on a higher level than the fruitive workers or the worshipers of different demigods.

Commentary (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Hayagrīva is described. At my sacrifice (satre), the Lord appeared as Hayagrīva. From the exhaling (śvasataḥ) of Hayagrīva (asya) through his nostrils (nastaḥ) the pleasant (uśatīh) words of the Vedas appeared. The three words chandomayo makhamayo ’khila-devatātmā describe karma-kāṇdā, jṣāna-kāṇḍā and devatā kāṇdā śrutis. Instead of makhamaya sometimes amṛtamaya is seen.