Gita 04.30 – The knowers of yajna attain purification, satisfaction and liberation
sarve ’py ete yajña-vido
yajña-kṣapita-kalmaṣāḥ
yajña-śiṣṭāmṛta-bhujo
yānti brahma sanātanam
Word-to-word
sarve — all; api — although apparently different; ete — these; yajña-vidaḥ — conversant with the purpose of performing sacrifices; yajña-kṣapita — being cleansed as the result of such performances; kalmaṣāḥ — of sinful reactions; yajña-śiṣṭa — of the result of such performances of yajña; amṛta-bhujaḥ — those who have tasted such nectar; yānti — do approach; brahma — the supreme; sanātanam — eternal atmosphere.
Translation
All these performers who know the meaning of sacrifice become cleansed of sinful reactions, and, having tasted the nectar of the results of sacrifices, they advance toward the supreme eternal atmosphere.
Explanation
sarve ’py ete yajña-vido – all these kinds of people are the knowers of yajna.
yajña-kṣapita-kalmaṣāḥ – they become purified and cleansed from contamination
yajña-śiṣṭāmṛta-bhujo – the remnants of sacrifice are like nectar and one who enjoys that nectar
yānti brahma sanātanam – they will go to the eternal spiritual destination.
Krishna has talked about Anya, Anya, Apare. These people, these people, that people — so many different types of people Krishna has talked about. From the 30th to 33rd verse, Krishna will give a summary of the principles of Yajna. From 25 to 29, he has given an overview of different activities that can be re-envisioned as Yajna.
After giving a quick overview of the various activities that are pursued in the field of Dharma in the Vedic cultural context and re-envisioning them from sacrifice, Krishna is moving forward to talk about how the principle of acts — that you will talk about in these verses.
In verse of Yajna means those who don’t see Yajna only in specific terms as offering an Ahuti into a fire, but they understand the underlying principle — that it is offering that which could be used for one’s pleasure for a higher purpose.
What happens to them? Kalmaṣāḥ. Krishna has already used the similar-sounding word, which also has a similar meaning — 2.2 in the Bhagavad Gita: kutas tvā kaśmalam idaṁ viṣame samupasthitam. Where have these weaknesses come upon? So although it’s not exactly the same meaning, the similar sounding is not exactly identically meaning but similar in meaning.
One becomes cleansed of the impurities, and then what happens once one is cleansed? Krishna has used this word yajña-śiṣṭām in 3.13, in an often quoted verse:
yajña-śiṣṭāśinaḥ santo
mucyante sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ
bhuñjate te tv aghaṁ pāpā
ye pacanty ātma-kāraṇāt.
Krishna is talking about how the remnants of sacrifice are freed — removal of sins. And this was often used to explain the basis by which we offer food to Krishna and take his Prasad.
So the enjoyer — not in English — is often given a bad press, negative connotation. But we are ultimately enjoyers. The only problem is that we are not independent enjoyers. We are subordinate enjoyers. We want to enjoy with Krishna. So that kind of enjoyment is talked about over here — yajña-śiṣṭāmṛta-bhujo. The remnants of sacrifice are like nectar, and one who enjoys that nectar — so what happens to that person? One who enjoys that nectar — that person will attain Brahma Sanatana. Brahma — spirit. Sanatana is eternal. Yanti means to go — they will go to the eternal spiritual destination.
The word Amrit has, again, a specific meaning and a generic meaning. Specifically, the word Amrit refers to the nectar of immortality that is drunk, sipped by the devatas. So, for example, to get just such a nectar, the churning of the milk ocean happened. But beyond that, the devatas, they have a soma rasa. That is also to some extent like a nectar.
The principle is: those who want nectar — they often think of nectar in very literal or physical terms, as an object to be consumed. Krishna is not talking about it in these terms. Although that imagery does gel with the principle of sacrifice or with the form of sacrifice.
Many times when the kings perform Yajna — they perform Putrakamesthi Yajna — then after the performance of the Putrakamesthi Yajna, there is the principle of purification. There is the principle that the devata whom one has worshipped — the devata will come, and the devata will offer some form of amrit.
For example, when Dashrath Maharaj performed Yagya for getting a Putra, then it was an elaborate sacrifice performed, and after that, Devata gave what? Devata gave, in a sanctified pot, some Payasam, which was like a nectar. And when Dashrath’s wives drank that nectar, they ate that Payasam, then they begot children — they begot sons.
So the important point is that there is — in Yagya imagery — often, when the Yagyas are performed successfully, there are celestial beings who come and offer Amrita. Krishna is continuing to invoke that imagery over here, and he says that here, the Amrita which they get is not exactly that kind of physical object which is to be consumed. Rather, it is an inner taste that is to be relished.
Kalmaṣāḥ — impurities are those that misdirect our consciousness, making that consciousness go from spiritual reality, from Krishna, towards worldly objects. The more impurities we have, the more our consciousness goes from Krishna to worldly objects. But the purer we are, the more our consciousness stays on Krishna.
And when we become purified in our capacity to keep our consciousness fixed on Krishna, it increases. By the process of Yajna, the kalmaṣāḥ that are there in our consciousness become kṣapita — they become removed.
Normally, if a person is doing the Yajna — say, fasting — at that time, there will not be any Amrita that is coming. You may say, okay, at the end of the fasting, the parana time — whatever food we use for breaking the fast — that tastes like nectar. That’s fine. But that is not exactly like the Amrita that is emerging from the Yajna.
Or when we give charity, some people may say, oh, when I give charity, the smile on the face of the recipient of charity — that is what gives me great satisfaction. Now, somebody may say that is like nectar for me. But these are not the gross things that Krishna is talking about.
I’m not saying gross in a negative sense over here. Certainly, to try to grab things from others and to have a bestial smile on one’s own face — that is definitely far more lower than to offer something to another and see the smile in that person’s face. So definitely, the first is in ignorance, where the second is goodness. From the material point of view, definitely it’s elevated.
But the important thing to recognize is that we all ultimately need to transcend, and the purpose of Yajna is to help us attain that transcendental reality. So attaining the transcendental reality means that the various different kinds of yajnas that have been talked about here — they are not necessarily to give any physical object to be relished. Sometimes they may give, and that can also be the result.
But the important thing that is talked about is the inner purification. The sacrifice has come and gone. We say, do a particular sacrifice, but after the sacrifice — through the process of sacrifice — our consciousness has become directed upwards towards some higher reality, ultimately towards Krishna.
And this purification, redirection of our consciousness — that is what takes us ultimately towards Krishna, towards the highest reality, moves us towards the eternal spiritual reality. In this way, the performance of the various kinds of Yajna elevates us towards the ultimate liberation that comes by the performance of Yajna.
Thank you.
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