Gita : Ch-3. Slo-11.

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita :


Chapter-3. ( Karma-yogam )


Slokam-11. ( The devas ( demigods ), being pleased by yajnam, will also please you; thus nourishing one another, there will reign general prosperity for all. )



Devan    bhavayatanena      te    deva    bhavayantu    vah,



Parasparam    bhavayantah     sreyah     paramavapsyatha.



anena  bhavan  bhavayata  =  by  this  yajnam, make  devas  (demi-gods)  be  pleased;

te devah vah bhavayantu  =  those devas will  please  you too;

parasparam  bhavayantah  =  thus by mutual  pleasing (one  another);

param  sreya  avapsyatha  =   you  do  achieve  (gain / attain)  supreme  sreyas  ( prosperity).


How does the sacrifice yield desired enjoyments? Lord Krishna answers this here. By yagna or worship and appeasement one pleases the devas or demi- gods, who in turn please the offerer with prosperity and abundance. Thus mutually gratifying each other both humans and the devas will be happy and attained the highest good


Lord Krishna explains that by yagna which is worship and appeasement of the devas or demi-gods who are His universal administrators of the material existence and who constitute His body and of whom He is the atma or soul within. Later in chapter IX.xxiv beginning with aham hi sarva we will see Him confirm that He is the sole enjoyer and rewarder of all yagnas. So let the demi-gods of whom Lord Krishna is the atma be worshipped so they will grant all prayers of prosperity and abundance. In this way by mutually offering services mankind shall reap its summum bonum and highest beatitude.


To answer the question how will yagna or worship fulfill one’s prayers Lord Krishna reponds that the devas or demi-gods nourished by the oblations offered will in turn mutually reciprocate fulfilling all one’s prayers with properity and abundance. Gratifying each other as such human and deva will all attain the fulfillment of their desires.


The demigods are empowered administrators of material affairs. The supply of air, light, water and all other benedictions for maintaining the body and soul of every living entity are entrusted to the demigods, who are innumerable assistants in different parts of the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Their pleasures and displeasures are dependant on the performance of yajnas by the human being. Some of the yajnas are meant to satisfy particular demigods; but even in so doing, Lord Vishnu is worshiped in all yajnas as the chief beneficiary. It is stated also in the Bhagavadgeeta that Krishna Himself is the beneficiary of all kinds of yajnas. Therefore, ultimate satisfaction of the yajnapati is the chief purpose of all yajnas. When these yajnas are perfectly performed, naturally the demigods in charge of the different departments of supply are pleased, and there is no scarcity in the supply of natural products.


As it will be explained in the following verse, by performance of yajna, one's eatables become sanctified, and by eating sanctified foodstuffs, one's very existence becomes purified; by the purification of existence, finer tissues in the memory become sanctified, and when memory is sanctified, one can think of the path of liberation, and all these combined together lead to Krishna consciousness, the great necessity of present-day society.


To be continued  ...