अग्निरुवाच
यत्तेजसाहं सुसमिद्धतेजा
हव्यं वहे स्वध्वर आज्यसिक्तम् ।
तं यज्ञियं पञ्चविधं च पञ्चभिः
स्विष्टं यजुर्भिः प्रणतोऽस्मि यज्ञम् ॥४१॥

agnir uvÄca
yat-tejasÄhaá¹ susamiddha-tejÄ
havyaá¹ vahe svadhvara Äjya-siktam
taṠyajñiyaṠpañca-vidhaṠca pañcabhiḥ
sviṣṭaṠyajurbhiḥ praṇato 'smi yajñam

 agniḥ - the fire-god; uvÄca - said; yat-tejasÄ - by whose effulgence; aham - I; su-samiddha-tejÄḥ - as luminous as blazing fire; havyam - offerings; vahe - I am accepting; su-adhvare - in the sacrifice; Äjya-siktam - mixed with butter; tam - that; yajñiyam - the protector of the sacrifice; pañca-vidham - five; ca - and; pañcabhiḥ - by five; su-iṣṭam - worshiped; yajurbhiḥ - Vedic hymns; praṇataḥ - offer respectful obeisances; asmi - I; yajñam - to Yajña (Viṣṇu).


Text

The fire-god said: My dear Lord, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You because by Your favor I am as luminous as blazing fire and I accept the offerings mixed with butter and offered in sacrifice. The five kinds of offerings according to the Yajur Veda are all Your different energies, and You are worshiped by five kinds of Vedic hymns. Sacrifice means You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Purport

In Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ it is clearly said that yajña should be performed for Lord Viṣṇu. Lord Viṣṇu has one thousand popular transcendental names, out of which one name is Yajña. It is clearly said that everything should be done for the satisfaction of Yajña, or Viṣṇu; all other actions a person may take are only causes for his bondage. Everyone has to perform yajña according to the Vedic hymns. As stated in the Upaniá¹£ads, fire, the altar, the auspicious full moon, the period of four months called cÄturmÄsya, the sacrificial animal, and the beverage called soma are necessary requisites, as are the specific hymns mentioned in the Vedas and composed of four letters. One hymn is as follows: ÄÅ›rÄvayeti catur-aká¹£araá¹ astu Å›rauá¹£aḠiti catur-aká¹£araá¹ yajeti dvÄbhyÄá¹ ye yajÄmahaḥ. These mantras, chanted according to the Å›ruti and smá¹›ti literatures, are only to please Lord Viṣṇu. For the deliverance of those who are materially conditioned and attached to material enjoyment, performing yajña and following the rules and regulations of the four divisions of society and of spiritual life are recommended. It is said in the Viṣṇu PurÄṇa that by offering sacrifice to Viṣṇu one can gradually be liberated. The whole target of life, therefore, is to please Lord Viṣṇu. That is yajña. Any person who is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness has dedicated his life for the satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa, the origin of all Viṣṇu forms, and by offering worship and prasÄda daily, he becomes the best performer of yajña. In the ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam it is clearly stated that in this Age of Kali the only successful performance of yajña, or sacrifice, is yajñaiḥ saá¹…kÄ«rtana-prÄyaiḥ: the best type of sacrifice is simply to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare RÄma, Hare RÄma, RÄma RÄma, Hare Hare. This yajña is offered before the form of Lord Caitanya, as other yajñas are offered before the form of Lord Viṣṇu. These recommendations are found in the Eleventh Canto of the ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam. Moreover, this yajña performance confirms that Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu is Viṣṇu Himself. As Lord Viṣṇu appeared at the Daká¹£a yajña long, long ago, Lord Caitanya has appeared in this age to accept our saá¹…kÄ«rtana-yajña.