Chapter 9: The Most Confidential Knowledge
Bg 9.16
TEXT 16
aham kratur aham yajnah
svadhaham aham ausadham
mantro 'ham aham evajyam
aham agnir aham hutam
SYNONYMS
aham—I; kratuh—ritual; aham—I; yajnah—sacrifice; svadha—oblation; aham—I ; aham—I; ausadham—healing herb ; mantrah—transcendental chant; aham—I; aham—I; eva—certainly; ajyam—melted butter; aham—I; agnih—fire; aham—I; hutam—offering.
TRANSLATION
But it is I who am the ritual, I the sacrifice, the offering to the ancestors, the healing herb, the transcendental chant. I am the butter and the fire and the offering.
PURPORT
The sacrifice known as jyotistoma is also Krsna, and He is also the maha-yajna The oblations offered to the Pitrloka or the sacrifice performed to please the Pitrloka, considered as a kind of drug in the form of clarified butter, is also Krsna. The mantras chanted in this connection are also Krsna. And many other commodities made with milk products for offering in the sacrifices are also Krsna. The fire is also Krsna because fire is one of the five material elements and is therefore claimed as the separated energy of Krsna. In other words, the Vedic sacrifices recommended in the karma-kanda division of the Vedas are in total also Krsna. Or, in other words, those who are engaged in rendering devotional service unto Krsna are to be understood to have performed all the sacrifices recommended in the Vedas.