SB 4.30.40 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

यन्न: स्वधीतं गुरव: प्रसादिता विप्राश्च वृद्धाश्च सदानुवृत्त्या । आर्या नता: सुहृदो भ्रातरश्च सर्वाणि भूतान्यनसूययैव ॥ ३९ ॥ यन्न: सुतप्तं तप एतदीश निरन्धसां कालमदभ्रमप्सु । सर्वं तदेतत्पुरुषस्य भूम्नो वृणीमहे ते परितोषणाय ॥ ४० ॥

Verse text

yan naḥ svadhītaṁ guravaḥ prasāditā viprāś ca vṛddhāś ca sad-ānuvṛttyā āryā natāḥ suhṛdo bhrātaraś ca sarvāṇi bhūtāny anasūyayaiva yan naḥ sutaptaṁ tapa etad īśa nirandhasāṁ kālam adabhram apsu sarvaṁ tad etat puruṣasya bhūmno vṛṇīmahe te paritoṣaṇāya

Synonyms

yat — what ; naḥ — by us ; svadhītam — studied ; guravaḥ — superior persons, spiritual masters ; prasāditāḥ — satisfied ; viprāḥ — the brāhmaṇas ; ca — and ; vṛddhāḥ — those who are elderly ; ca — and ; sat — ānuvṛttyā — by our gentle behavior ; āryāḥ — those who are advanced in spiritual knowledge ; natāḥ — were offered obeisances ; su — hṛdaḥ — friends ; bhrātaraḥ — brothers ; ca — and ; sarvāṇi — all ; bhūtāni — living entities ; anasūyayā — without envy ; eva — certainly ; yat — what ; naḥ — of us ; su — taptam — severe ; tapaḥ — penance ; etat — this ; īśa — O Lord ; nirandhasām — without taking any food ; kālam — time ; adabhram — for a long duration ; apsu — within the water ; sarvam — all ; tat — that ; etat — this ; puruṣasya — of the Supreme Personality of Godhead ; bhūmnaḥ — the most exalted ; vṛṇīmahe — we want this benediction ; te — of You ; paritoṣaṇāya — for the satisfaction .

Translation

Dear Lord, we have studied the Vedas, accepted a spiritual master and offered respect to brāhmaṇas, advanced devotees and aged personalities who are spiritually very advanced. We have offered our respects to them, and we have not been envious of any brother, friends or anyone else. We have also undergone severe austerities within the water and have not taken food for a long time. All these spiritual assets of ours are simply offered for Your satisfaction. We pray for this benediction only, and nothing more.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

We have studied and satisfied the teachers, brāhmaṇas and seniors in knowledge by our proper conduct. We have respected the senior devotees, friends, and our brothers. We have been kind to all beings, without envy. We have performed severe penance—not taking food for a long time while remaining in the water. We select all this for pleasing you, the great Lord. Being ignorant, we do not know the process of pleasing you. You should be pleased with what we have done randomly. Vṛddhāḥ means those with good knowledge. Āryāḥ means those with great bhakti. After sarvāni bhūtāni, prasāditāni (have been pleased) should be added. Nirandhasām means “without taking food.” Adabhram kālam means “for a long time.”

Purport

As stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam: the real perfection of life is pleasing the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ: in understanding the Vedas, one has to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One who has actually understood Him surrenders unto Him after many, many births. We find all these qualifications in the Pracetās. They underwent severe austerities and penances within the water, and they did not take any food for a very long time. They practiced these austerities not for material benediction but for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord. One may engage in any business — material or spiritual — but the purpose should be the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This verse presents a perfect picture of Vedic civilization. People training to become devotees should be respectful not only to the Supreme Personality of Godhead but also to those who are elderly in knowledge, who are Āryans and actual devotees of the Lord. An Āryan is one who does not boast but is an actual devotee of the Lord. Āryan means “advanced.” Formerly, those who claimed to be Āryans had to be devotees of the Lord. For instance, in Bhagavad-gītā (2.2) Kṛṣṇa chastised Arjuna by saying that he was speaking like a non-Āryan: śrī-bhagavān uvāca kutas tvā kaśmalam idaṁ viṣame samupasthitam anārya-juṣṭam asvargyam akīrti-karam arjuna “The Supreme Person [Bhagavān] said: My dear Arjuna, how have these impurities come upon you? They are not at all befitting a man who knows the progressive values of life. They do not lead to higher planets, but to infamy.” Arjuna, the kṣatriya, was refusing to fight despite being directly ordered by the Supreme Lord. He was thus chastised by the Lord as belonging to a non-Āryan family. Anyone who is advanced in the devotional service of the Lord certainly knows his duty. It does not matter whether his duty is violent or nonviolent. If it is sanctioned and ordered by the Supreme Lord, it must be performed. An Āryan performs his duty. It is not that the Āryans are unnecessarily inimical to living entities. The Āryans never maintain slaughterhouses, and they are never enemies of poor animals. The Pracetās underwent severe austerities for many, many years, even within the water. Accepting austerities and penances is the avowed business of those interested in advanced civilization. The word nirandhasām means “without food.” Eating voraciously and unnecessarily is not the business of an Āryan. Rather, the eating process should be restricted as far as possible. When Āryans eat, they eat only prescribed eatables. Regarding this, the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (9.26) : patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ “If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.” Thus there are restrictions for the advanced Āryans. Although the Lord Himself can eat anything and everything, He restricts Himself to vegetables, fruits, milk and so on. This verse thus describes the activities of those who claim to be Āryans.