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Å›reyÄn dravya-mayÄd yajñÄj
jñÄna-yajñaḥ parantapa
sarvaá¹ karmÄkhilaá¹ pÄrtha
jñÄne parisamÄpyate

 Å›reyÄn - greater; dravya-mayÄt - of material possessions; yajñÄt - than the sacrifice; jñÄna-yajñaḥ - sacrifice in knowledge; parantapa - O chastiser of the enemy; sarvam - all; karma - activities; akhilam - in totality; pÄrtha - O son of Pá¹›thÄ; jñÄne - in knowledge; parisamÄpyate - end.


Text

O chastiser of the enemy, the sacriï¬ce performed in knowledge is better than the mere sacriï¬ce of material possessions. After all, O son of Pá¹›thÄ, all sacriï¬ces of work culminate in transcendental knowledge.

Purport

The purpose of all sacriï¬ces is to arrive at the status of complete knowledge, then to gain release from material miseries and, ultimately, to engage in loving transcendental service to the Supreme Lord (Kṛṣṇa consciousness). Nonetheless, there is a mystery about all these different activities of sacriï¬ce, and one should know this mystery. Sacriï¬ces sometimes take different forms according to the particular faith of the performer. When one’s faith reaches the stage of transcendental knowledge, the performer of sacriï¬ces should be considered more advanced than those who simply sacriï¬ce material possessions without such knowledge, for without attainment of knowledge, sacriï¬ces remain on the material platform and bestow no spiritual beneï¬t. Real knowledge culminates in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the highest stage of transcendental knowledge. Without the elevation of knowledge, sacriï¬ces are simply material activities. When, however, they are elevated to the level of transcendental knowledge, all such activities enter onto the spiritual platform. Depending on differences in consciousness, sacriï¬cial activities are sometimes called karma-kÄṇá¸a (fruitive activities) and sometimes jñÄna-kÄṇá¸a (knowledge in the pursuit of truth). It is better when the end is knowledge.