न ह्यग्निमुखतोऽयं वै भगवान्सर्वयज्ञभुक् ।
इज्येत हविषा राजन्यथा विप्रमुखे हुतैः ॥१७॥

na hy agni-mukhato 'yaá¹ vai
bhagavÄn sarva-yajña-bhuk
ijyeta haviá¹£Ä rÄjan
yathÄ vipra-mukhe hutaiḥ

 na - not; hi - indeed; agni - fire; mukhataḥ - from the mouth or the flames; ayam - this; vai - certainly; bhagavÄn - Lord ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa; sarva-yajña-bhuk - the enjoyer of the results of all kinds of sacrifices; ijyeta - is worshiped; haviá¹£Ä - by offering of clarified butter; rÄjan - O King; yathÄ - as much as; vipra-mukhe - through the mouth of a brÄhmaṇa; hutaiḥ - by offering him first-class food.


Text

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa, is the enjoyer of sacrificial offerings. Yet although His Lordship eats the oblations offered in the fire, my dear King, He is still more satisfied when nice food made of grains and ghee is offered to Him through the mouths of qualified brÄhmaṇas.

Purport

As stated in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (3.9), yajñÄrthÄt karmaṇo ’nyatra loko ’yaá¹ karma-bandhanaḥ: all fruitive activities should be performed for sacrifice, which should be directed toward pleasing Kṛṣṇa. As stated elsewhere in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (5.29), bhoktÄraá¹ yajña-tapasÄá¹ sarva-loka-maheÅ›varam: He is the Supreme Lord and enjoyer of everything. However, although sacrifice may be offered to please Kṛṣṇa, He is more pleased when grains and ghee, instead of being offered in the fire, are prepared as prasÄda and distributed, first to the brÄhmaṇas and then to others. This system pleases Kṛṣṇa more than anything else. Furthermore, at the present time there is very little chance to offer sacrifices by pouring oblations of food grains and ghee into the fire. Especially in India, there is practically no ghee; for everything that should be done with ghee, people use a certain type of oil preparation. Oil, however, is never recommended for offering in a sacrificial fire. In Kali-yuga, the available quantity of food grains and ghee is gradually diminishing, and people are embarrassed that they cannot produce sufficient ghee and food grains. Under the circumstances, the Å›Ästras enjoin, yajñaiḥ saá¹…kÄ«rtana-prÄyair yajanti hi sumedhasaḥ: in this age, those who are intellectual offer yajña, or perform sacrifices, through the saá¹…kÄ«rtana movement. Everyone should join the saá¹…kÄ«rtana movement, offering to the fire of this movement the oblations of his knowledge and riches. In our saá¹…kÄ«rtana movement, or Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, we offer sumptuous prasÄda to the Deity and later distribute the same prasÄda to the brÄhmaṇas, the Vaiṣṇavas and then to the people in general. Kṛṣṇa’s prasÄda is offered to the brÄhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas, and the prasÄda of the brÄhmaṇas and Vaiṣṇavas is offered to the general populace. This kind of sacrifice — chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and distribution of prasÄda — is the most perfect and bona fide way of offering sacrifice for the pleasure of Yajña, or Viṣṇu.