Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 11 - Chapter 27

Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 11 - Chapter 1 - Verse 1 Sanskrit: श्रीउद्धव उवाचक्रियायोगं समाचक्ष्व भवदाराधनं प्रभो ।यस्मात्त्वां ये यथार्चन्ति सात्वता: सात्वतर्षभ ॥ १ ॥ ITRANS: śrī-uddhava uvācakriyā-yogaṁ samācakṣvabhavad-ārādhanaṁ prabhoyasmāt tvāṁ ye yathārcantisātvatāḥ sātvatarṣabha Translation: Śrī Uddhava said: My dear Lord, O master of the devotees, please explain to me the prescribed method of worshiping You in Your Deity form. What are the qualifications of those devotees who worship the Deity, on what basis is such worship established, and what is the specific method of worship?...

Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 11 - Chapter 1 - Verse 2 Sanskrit: एतद् वदन्ति मुनयो मुहुर्नि:श्रेयसं नृणाम् ।नारदो भगवान् व्यास आचार्योऽङ्गिरस: सुत: ॥ २ ॥ ITRANS: etad vadanti munayomuhur niḥśreyasaṁ nṛṇāmnārado bhagavān vyāsaācāryo ’ṅgirasaḥ sutaḥ Translation: All the great sages repeatedly declare that such worship brings the greatest benefit possible in human life. This is the opinion of Nārada Muni, the great Vyāsadeva and my own spiritual master, Bṛhaspati. Purport:

Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 11 - Chapter 1 - Verse 3-4 Sanskrit: नि:सृतं ते मुखाम्भोजाद् यदाह भगवानज: ।पुत्रेभ्यो भृगुमुख्येभ्यो देव्यै च भगवान् भव: ॥ ३ ॥एतद् वै सर्ववर्णानामाश्रमाणां च सम्मतम् ।श्रेयसामुत्तमं मन्ये स्‍त्रीशूद्राणां च मानद ॥ ४ ॥ ITRANS: niḥsṛtaṁ te mukhāmbhojādyad āha bhagavān ajaḥputrebhyo bhṛgu-mukhyebhyodevyai ca bhagavān bhavaḥ Translation: O most magnanimous Lord, the instructions on this process of Deity worship first emanated from Your lotus mouth. Then they were spoken by the great Lord Brahmā to his sons, headed by Bhṛgu, and by Lord Śiva to his wife, Pārvatī....

Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 11 - Chapter 1 - Verse 5 Sanskrit: एतत् कमलपत्राक्ष कर्मबन्धविमोचनम् ।भक्ताय चानुरक्ताय ब्रूहि विश्वेश्वरेश्वर ॥ ५ ॥ ITRANS: etat kamala-patrākṣakarma-bandha-vimocanambhaktāya cānuraktāyabrūhi viśveśvareśvara Translation: O lotus-eyed one, O Supreme Lord of all lords of the universe, please explain to Your devoted servant this means of liberation from the bondage of work. Purport:

Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 11 - Chapter 1 - Verse 6 Sanskrit: श्रीभगवानुवाचन ह्यन्तोऽनन्तपारस्य कर्मकाण्डस्य चोद्धव ।सङ्‌क्षिप्तं वर्णयिष्यामि यथावदनुपूर्वश: ॥ ६ ॥ ITRANS: śrī-bhagavān uvācana hy anto ’nanta-pārasyakarma-kāṇḍasya coddhavasaṅkṣiptaṁ varṇayiṣyāmiyathāvad anupūrvaśaḥ Translation: The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: My dear Uddhava, there is no end to the innumerable Vedic prescriptions for executing Deity worship; so I shall explain this topic to you briefly, one step at a time. Purport: Here the word karma-kāṇḍa refers to the various Vedic methods of worship, culminating in Deity worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead....

Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 11 - Chapter 1 - Verse 7 Sanskrit: वैदिकस्तान्त्रिको मिश्र इति मे त्रिविधो मख: ।त्रयाणामीप्सितेनैव विधिना मां समर्चरेत् ॥ ७ ॥ ITRANS: vaidikas tāntriko miśraiti me tri-vidho makhaḥtrayāṇām īpsitenaivavidhinā māṁ samarcaret Translation: One should carefully worship Me by selecting one of the three methods by which I receive sacrifice: Vedic, tantric or mixed. Purport: Vaidika refers to sacrifice performed with mantras from the four Vedas and auxiliary Vedic literature....

Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 11 - Chapter 1 - Verse 8 Sanskrit: यदा स्वनिगमेनोक्तं द्विजत्वं प्राप्य पूरुष: ।यथा यजेत मां भक्त्या श्रद्धया तन्निबोध मे ॥ ८ ॥ ITRANS: yadā sva-nigamenoktaṁdvijatvaṁ prāpya pūruṣaḥyathā yajeta māṁ bhaktyāśraddhayā tan nibodha me Translation: Now please listen faithfully as I explain exactly how a person who has achieved twice-born status through the relevant Vedic prescriptions should worship Me with devotion. Purport: The word sva-nigamena refers to the particular Vedic injunctions relevant to one’s social and occupational status....

Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 11 - Chapter 1 - Verse 9 Sanskrit: अर्चायां स्थण्डिलेऽग्नौ वा सूर्ये वाप्सु हृदि द्विज: ।द्रव्येण भक्तियुक्तोऽर्चेत् स्वगुरुं माममायया ॥ ९ ॥ ITRANS: arcāyāṁ sthaṇḍile ’gnau vāsūrye vāpsu hṛdi dvijaḥdravyeṇa bhakti-yukto ’rcetsva-guruṁ mām amāyayā Translation: A twice-born person should worship Me, his worshipable Lord, without duplicity, offering appropriate paraphernalia in loving devotion to My Deity form or to a form of Me appearing upon the ground, in fire, in the sun, in water or within the worshiper’s own heart....

Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 11 - Chapter 1 - Verse 10 Sanskrit: पूर्वं स्‍नानं प्रकुर्वीत धौतदन्तोऽङ्गशुद्धये ।उभयैरपि च स्‍नानं मन्त्रैर्मृद्ग्रहणादिना ॥ १० ॥ ITRANS: pūrvaṁ snānaṁ prakurvītadhauta-danto ’ṅga-śuddhayeubhayair api ca snānaṁmantrair mṛd-grahaṇādinā Translation: One should first purify his body by cleansing his teeth and bathing. Then one should perform a second cleansing by smearing the body with earth and chanting both Vedic and tantric mantras. Purport:

Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 11 - Chapter 1 - Verse 11 Sanskrit: सन्ध्योपास्त्यादिकर्माणि वेदेनाचोदितानि मे ।पूजां तै: कल्पयेत् सम्यक् सङ्कल्प: कर्मपावनीम् ॥ ११ ॥ ITRANS: sandhyopāstyādi-karmāṇivedenācoditāni mepūjāṁ taiḥ kalpayet samyak-saṅkalpaḥ karma-pāvanīm Translation: Fixing the mind on Me, one should worship Me by his various prescribed duties, such as chanting the Gāyatrī mantra at the three junctures of the day. Such performances are enjoined by the Vedas and purify the worshiper of reactions to fruitive activities....

Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 11 - Chapter 1 - Verse 12 Sanskrit: शैली दारुमयी लौही लेप्या लेख्या च सैकती ।मनोमयी मणिमयी प्रतिमाष्टविधा स्मृता ॥ १२ ॥ ITRANS: śailī dāru-mayī lauhīlepyā lekhyā ca saikatīmano-mayī maṇi-mayīpratimāṣṭa-vidhā smṛtā Translation: The Deity form of the Lord is said to appear in eight varieties — stone, wood, metal, earth, paint, sand, the mind or jewels. Purport: Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī explains that certain Deity forms, such as those made of sand, are manifested for a brief time to fulfill a personal desire of the worshiper....

Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 11 - Chapter 1 - Verse 13 Sanskrit: चलाचलेति द्विविधा प्रतिष्ठा जीवमन्दिरम् ।उद्वासावाहने न स्त: स्थिरायामुद्धवार्चने ॥ १३ ॥ ITRANS: calācaleti dvi-vidhāpratiṣṭhā jīva-mandiramudvāsāvāhane na staḥsthirāyām uddhavārcane Translation: The Deity form of the Lord, who is the shelter of all living entities, can be established in two ways: temporarily or permanently. But a permanent Deity, having been called, can never be sent away, My dear Uddhava. Purport: The devotees of the Lord understand themselves to be the Lord’s eternal servitors; recognizing the Deity to be the Lord Himself, they permanently install the Deity and engage in perpetual worship....

Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 11 - Chapter 1 - Verse 14 Sanskrit: अस्थिरायां विकल्प: स्यात् स्थण्डिले तु भवेद् द्वयम् ।स्‍नपनं त्वविलेप्यायामन्यत्र परिमार्जनम् ॥ १४ ॥ ITRANS: asthirāyāṁ vikalpaḥ syātsthaṇḍile tu bhaved dvayamsnapanaṁ tv avilepyāyāmanyatra parimārjanam Translation: The Deity that is temporarily established can optionally be called forth and sent away, but these two rituals should always be performed when the Deity is traced upon the ground. Bathing should be done with water except if the Deity is made of clay, paint or wood, in which cases a thorough cleansing without water is enjoined....

Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 11 - Chapter 1 - Verse 15 Sanskrit: द्रव्यै: प्रसिद्धैर्मद्याग: प्रतिमादिष्वमायिन: ।भक्तस्य च यथालब्धैर्हृदि भावेन चैव हि ॥ १५ ॥ ITRANS: dravyaiḥ prasiddhair mad-yāgaḥpratimādiṣv amāyinaḥbhaktasya ca yathā-labdhairhṛdi bhāvena caiva hi Translation: One should worship Me in My Deity forms by offering the most excellent paraphernalia. But a devotee completely freed from material desire may worship Me with whatever he is able to obtain, and may even worship Me within his heart with mental paraphernalia....

Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 11 - Chapter 1 - Verse 16-17 Sanskrit: स्‍नानालङ्करणं प्रेष्ठमर्चायामेव तूद्धव ।स्थण्डिले तत्त्वविन्यासो वह्नावाज्यप्लुतं हवि: ॥ १६ ॥सूर्ये चाभ्यर्हणं प्रेष्ठं सलिले सलिलादिभि: ।श्रद्धयोपाहृतं प्रेष्ठं भक्तेन मम वार्यपि ॥ १७ ॥ ITRANS: snānālaṅkaraṇaṁ preṣṭhamarcāyām eva tūddhavasthaṇḍile tattva-vinyāsovahnāv ājya-plutaṁ haviḥ Translation: In worshiping the temple Deity, my dear Uddhava, bathing and decoration are the most pleasing offerings. For the Deity traced on sacred ground, the process of tattva-vinyāsa is most dear....