TEXT 36
yajamany uvaca
svagatam te prasidesa tubhyam namah
srinivasa sriya kantaya trahi nah
tvam rte dhisa nangair makhah sobhate
sirsa-hinah ka-bandho yatha purusah
SYNONYMS
yajamanithe wife of Daksa; uvacaprayed; su-agatamauspicious appearance; teYour; prasidabecome pleased; isamy dear Lord; tubhyamunto You; namahrespectful obeisances; srinivasaO abode of the goddess of fortune; sriyawith Laksmi; kantayaYour wife; trahiprotect; nahus; tvamYou; rtewithout; adhisaO supreme controller; nanot; angaihwith bodily limbs; makhahthe sacrificial arena; sobhateis beautiful; sirsa-hinahwithout the head; ka-bandhahpossessed of only a body; yathaas; purusaha person.
TRANSLATION
The wife of Daksa prayed as follows: My dear Lord, it is very fortunate that You have appeared in this arena of sacrifice. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You, and I request that You be pleased on this occasion. The sacrificial arena is not beautiful without You, just as a body is not beautiful without the head.
PURPORT
Another name of Lord Visnu is Yajnesvara. In Bhagavad-gita it is said that all activities should be performed as Visnu-yajna, for the pleasure of Lord Visnu. Unless we please Him, whatever we do is the cause of our bondage in the material world. This is confirmed herein by the wife of Daksa: Without Your presence, the grandeur of this sacrificial ceremony is useless, just as a body without the head, however decorated it may be, is useless. The comparison is equally applicable to the social body. Material civilization is very proud of being advanced, but it is actually the useless trunk of a body without a head. Without Krsna consciousness, without an understanding of Visnu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, any advancement in a civilization, no matter how sophisticated, is of no value. There is a statement in the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya (3.11):
The purport is that sometimes when a friend or relative dies, especially among lower class men, the dead body is decorated. Dressed and ornamented, the body is taken in procession. That sort of decoration of the dead body has no actual value because the life force is already gone. Similarly, any aristocracy, any social prestige or any advancement of material civilization without Krsna consciousness is as good as the decoration of a dead body. The name of the wife of Daksa was Prasuti, and she was the daughter of Svayambhuva Manu. Her sister, Devahuti, was married to Kardama Muni, and Kapiladeva, the Personality of Godhead, became her son. Prasuti, then, was the aunt of Lord Visnu. She was asking the favor of Lord Visnu in an affectionate mode; since she was His aunt, she sought some special favor. Also significant in this verse is that the Lord is praised with the goddess of fortune. Wherever Lord Visnu is worshiped, naturally there is the favor of the goddess of fortune. Lord Visnu is addressed as amrta, transcendental. The demigods, including Brahma and Lord Siva, were produced after the creation, but Lord Visnu existed before the creation. He is addressed, therefore, as amrta. Lord Visnu is worshiped with His internal energy by the Vaisnavas. Prasuti, the wife of Daksa, implored the Lord to turn the priests into Vaisnavas instead of simply fruitive workers performing sacrifices for some material benefits.

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