Devanagari
यथा तरोर्मूलनिषेचनेन
तृप्यन्ति तत्स्कन्धभुजोपशाखा: ।
प्राणोपहाराच्च यथेन्द्रियाणां
तथैव सर्वार्हणमच्युतेज्या ॥ १४ ॥
Verse text
yathā taror mūla-niṣecanena
tṛpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopaśākhāḥ
prāṇopahārāc ca yathendriyāṇāṁ
tathaiva sarvārhaṇam acyutejyā
Synonyms
yathā
—
as
;
taroḥ
—
of a tree
;
mūla
—
the root
;
niṣecanena
—
by watering
;
tṛpyanti
—
are satisfied
;
tat
—
its
;
skandha
—
trunk
;
bhuja
—
branches
;
upaśākhāḥ
—
and twigs
;
prāṇa
—
the life air
;
upahārāt
—
by feeding
;
ca
—
and
;
yathā
—
as
;
indriyāṇām
—
of the senses
;
tathā eva
—
similarly
;
sarva
—
of all demigods
;
arhaṇam
—
worship
;
acyuta
—
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
;
ijyā
—
worship .
Translation
As pouring water on the root of a tree energizes the trunk, branches, twigs and everything else, and as supplying food to the stomach enlivens the senses and limbs of the body, simply worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead through devotional service automatically satisfies the demigods, who are parts of that Supreme Personality.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Just as the branches and twigs are satisfied by watering the root, and just as the senses are satisfied by nourishing the life air, by worshipping the Supreme Lord all are worship is accomplished.
“Just as karma and jṣāna must be mixed with bhakti to get results, bhakti also should be mixed with karma and jṣāna to get results, since the scriptures say that one must make atonement if one omits to perform nitya-karmas (daily obligatory rituals) aimed at pleasing the devatās, sages and Pitṛs.” This verse answers. The first division from the trunk of a tree is called the skhandha. When that divides it is called bhuja. When the bhuja divides it is called an upaśākha. Leaves and flowers are also implied in this analogy. All these parts of the tree are satisfied by watering the root. They cannot be satisfied by pouring water on the branches or the leaves. Worship of the Lord is all worship (sarvārhaṇam). This means that by the worship of the Lord everyone is worshipped. “Well, this is acceptable if one cannot worship everyone, but if one can, then one should worship the Lord, and also the devatās, sages and Pitṛs. There is no fault in watering the root, branches and leaves. Rather, that is better.” An example is given to refute this argument. From nourishing the life air all the senses are satisfied. If one tries feeding food to each sense, they cannot be satisfied at all. Rather the eye will become blind and the ear deaf. It is a fault.
Purport
Sometimes people ask why this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement simply advocates worship of Kṛṣṇa to the exclusion of the demigods. The answer is given in this verse. The example of pouring water on the root of a tree is very appropriate. In
Bhagavad-gītā
(15.1)
it is said,
ūrdhva-mūlam adhaḥ-śākham:
this cosmic manifestation has expanded downward, and the root is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As the Lord confirms in
Bhagavad-gītā
(10.8)
,
ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ:
“I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds.” Kṛṣṇa is the root of everything; therefore rendering service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa (
kṛṣṇa-sevā
), means automatically serving all the demigods. Sometimes it is argued that
karma
and
jṣāna
require a mixture of
bhakti
in order to be successfully executed, and sometimes it is argued that
bhakti
also requires
karma
and
jṣāna
for its successful termination. The fact is, however, that although
karma
and
jṣāna
cannot be successful without
bhakti, bhakti
does not require the help of
karma
and
jṣāna.
Actually, as described by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī,
anyābhilāṣitā-śūnyaṁ jṣāna-karmādy-anāvṛtam:
pure devotional service should not be contaminated by the touch of
karma
and
jṣāna.
Modern society is involved in various types of philanthropic works, humanitarian works and so on, but people do not know that these activities will never be successful unless Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is brought into the center. One may ask what harm there is in worshiping Kṛṣṇa and the different parts of His body, the demigods, and the answer is also given in this verse. The point is that by supplying food to the stomach, the
indriyas,
the senses, are automatically satisfied. If one tries to feed his eyes or ears independently, the result is only havoc. Simply by supplying food to the stomach, we satisfy all of the senses. It is neither necessary nor feasible to render separate service to the individual senses. The conclusion is that by serving Kṛṣṇa (
kṛṣṇa-sevā
), everything is complete. As confirmed in
Caitanya-caritāmṛta
(
Madhya
22.62)
,
kṛṣṇe bhakti kaile sarva-karma kṛta haya:
if one is engaged in the devotional service of the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, everything is automatically accomplished.