BHAGAVAD-GITA 9:20

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BHAGAVAD-GITA 9:20

 

trai-vidya mam soma-pah puta-papa

yajnair istva svar-gatim prarthayante

te punyam asadya surendra-lokam

asnanti divyan divi deva-bhogan

 

WORD FOR WORD

 

trai-vidyah--the knowers of the three Vedas; mam--Me;

soma-pah--drinkers of soma juice; puta--purified; papah--of sins;

yajnaih--with sacrifices; istva--worshiping; svah-gatim--passage to

heaven; prarthayante--pray for; te--they; punyam--pious;

asadya--attaining; sura-indra--of Indra; lokam--the world;

asnanti--enjoy; divyan--celestial; divi--in heaven; deva-bhogan--the

pleasures of the gods.

 

TRANSLATION

 

Those who study the Vedas and drink the soma juice, seeking the

heavenly planets, worship Me indirectly. Purified of sinful reactions,

they take birth on the pious, heavenly planet of Indra, where they

enjoy godly delights.

 

PURPORT

 

The word trai-vidyah refers to the three Vedas--Sama, Yajur and Rg. A

brahmana who has studied these three Vedas is called a tri-vedi.

Anyone who is very much attached to knowledge derived from these three

Vedas is respected in society. Unfortunately, there are many great

scholars of the Vedas who do not know the ultimate purport of studying

them. Therefore Krsna herein declares Himself to be the ultimate goal

for the tri-vedis. Actual tri-vedis take shelter under the lotus feet

of Krsna and engage in pure devotional service to satisfy the Lord.

Devotional service begins with the chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra

and side by side trying to understand Krsna in truth. Unfortunately

those who are simply official students of the Vedas become more

interested in offering sacrifices to the different demigods like Indra

and Candra. By such endeavor, the worshipers of different demigods are

certainly purified of the contamination of the lower qualities of

nature and are thereby elevated to the higher planetary systems or

heavenly planets known as Maharloka, Janoloka, Tapoloka, etc. Once

situated on those higher planetary systems, one can satisfy his senses

hundreds of thousands of times better than on this planet.

 

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with

permission.