SB 8.16.9 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

यत्पूजया कामदुघान्याति लोकान्गृहान्वित: । ब्राह्मणोऽग्निश्च वै विष्णो: सर्वदेवात्मनो मुखम् ॥ ९ ॥

Verse text

yat-pūjayā kāma-dughān yāti lokān gṛhānvitaḥ brāhmaṇo ’gniś ca vai viṣṇoḥ sarva-devātmano mukham

Synonyms

yat — pūjayā — by worshiping the fire and brāhmaṇas ; kāma — dughān — which fulfill one’s desires ; yāti — one goes ; lokān — to the destination of the higher planetary system ; gṛha — anvitaḥ — a person attached to household life ; brāhmaṇaḥ — the brāhmaṇas ; agniḥ ca — and the fire ; vai — indeed ; viṣṇoḥ — of Lord Viṣṇu ; sarva — deva — ātmanaḥ — the soul of all the demigods ; mukham — the mouth .

Translation

By worshiping the fire and the brāhmaṇas, a householder can achieve the desired goal of residing in the higher planets, for the sacrificial fire and the brāhmaṇas are to be considered the mouth of Lord Viṣṇu, who is the Supersoul of all the demigods.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

By worshiping the fire and the brāhmaṇas, a householder can achieve the goal of residing in the higher planets, for the sacrificial fire and the brāhmaṇas are to be considered the mouth of Lord Viṣṇu, who is the soul of all the devatās.

Purport

According to the Vedic system, a fire sacrifice is held in order to offer oblations of ghee, grains, fruits, flowers and so on, so that Lord Viṣṇu may eat and be satisfied. 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.” Therefore, all these items may be offered in the sacrificial fire, and Lord Viṣṇu will be satisfied. Similarly, brāhmaṇa-bhojana, feeding of the brāhmaṇas, is also recommended, for when the brāhmaṇas eat sumptuous remnants of food after yajṣa, this is another way that Lord Viṣṇu Himself eats. Therefore the Vedic principles recommend that in every festival or ceremony one offer oblations to the fire and give sumptuous food for the brāhmaṇas to eat. By such activities, a householder may be elevated to the heavenly planets and similar places in the higher planetary systems.