इष्टान्भोगान्हि वो देवा दास्यन्ते यज्ञभाविताः।
तैर्दत्तानप्रदायैभ्यो यो भुङ्क्ते स्तेन एव सः।।3.12।।
3.12 Being nourished by sacrifices, the gods will indeed give you the coveted enjoyments. He is certainly a theif who enjoys what have been given by them without offering (these) to them.
3.12 The gods, nourished by the sacrifice, will give you the desired objects. So, he who enjoys the objects given by the gods without offering (in return) to them, is verily a thief.
3.12. The devas, gratified with necessary action will grant you the things sacrificed. [Hence] whosoever enjoys their gifts without offering them to these devas-he is surely a thief.
3.12 इष्टान् desired? भोगान् objects? हि so? वः to you? देवाः the gods? दास्यन्ते will give? यज्ञभाविताः nourished by sacrifice? तैः by them? दत्तान् give? अप्रदाय without offering? एभ्यः to them? यः who? भुङ्क्ते enjoys? स्तेनः thief? एव verily? सः he.Commentary When the gods are pleased with you sacrifices? they will bestow on you all the desired objects such as children? cattle? property? etc. He who enjoys what has been given to him by the gods? i.e.? he who gratifies the cravings of his own body and the senses without offering anything to the gods in return is a veritable thief. He is really a dacoit of the property of the gods.
3.12 Yajna-bhavitah, being nourished, i.e. being satisfied, by sacrifices; devah, the gods; dasyante hi, will indeed give, will distribute; among vah, you; the istan, coveted; bhogan, enjoyments, such as wife, childeren and cattle. Sah, he; is eva, certainly; a stenah, thief, a stealer of the wealth of gods and others; yah, who; bhunkte, enjoys, gratifies only his own body and organs; with dattan, what enjoyable things have been given; taih, by them, by the gods; apradaya, without offering (these); hyah, to them, i.e. without repaying the d [The three kinds of d -to the gods, to the rsis (sage), and to the manes-are repaid by satisfying them through sacrifices, celibacy (including study of the Vedas, etc.), and procreation, respectively. Unless one repays these d s, he incurs sin.] to them.
3.12 Istan etc. [The deities of] the senses, gratified by the necessry actions, bind [the aspirants mind] to the state of remaining firm on some object of meditation. Therefore when they are at work, the things, i.e., the objects are granted [to him] by none but the [deities of the] senses, through recollection, resolution, meditation etc., of their objects. If these objects are not offered for the enjoyment of the deities, then it would amount to the status of a theif i.e., to an act of thief, because he is acting deceitfully. Indeed it has already been declared by the Bhagavat that He is called a man of deluded action. Therefore the idea in the passage [under study] is this : Whosoever is desirous of attaining by easy means, the supernatural power [like anima etc.], or of attaining emancipation, he should enjoy the objects as and when they are brought, [and enjoy] just with the aim of simply alliviating the impatience of the [deities of the] senses.
3.12 Pleased by the sacrifice, i.e., propitiated by the sacrifice, the gods, who have Me as their Self, will bestow on you the enjoyments you desire. Whatever objects are desired by persons keen on attaining release, the supreme end of human endeavour, all those will be granted by gods previously worshipped through many sacrifices. That is, whatever is solicited with more and more propitiation, all those enjoyments they will bestow on you. Whoever enjoys the objects of enjoyment granted by them for the purpose of worshipping them, without giving them their due share in return - he is verily a thief. What is called theft is indeed taking what belongs to another as ones own and using it for oneself, when it is really designed for the purpose of another. The purport is that such a person becomes unfit not only for the supreme end of human endeavour, but also will go down towards purgatory (Naraka). Sri Krsna expands the same:
To make this point clearer, he speaks of the fault of not performing this activity. He who enjoys what is given by the devatas, such as food through the rain, without giving anything to them through performance of the panca maha yajna and other rites is a thief.
Lord Krishna reveals the positive results in performing yagna or worship to the devas or demi-gods in receiving prosperity and abundance and the negative results in not first offering what one is about to partake to the demi-gods in reciprocation. Therefore one who enjoys food which was originally placed on Earth by the demi-gods and which mankind uses for their life preservation and sustenance without offering it first to them in yagna or worship is a thief . This is for ordinary people. For duly initiated Brahmins in one of the four authorised disciplic successions the five daily yagnas must be performed as well. 1) Brahma yagna- Study of the Vedic scriptures 2) Pitri yagna- Offering vegetarian foods to the anscestors 3) Deva yagna- Offering of oblations to the demi-gods 4) Bhuta yagna- Offering blessings to all created being 5) Nri yagna- Showing hospitality to any guest that comes by
There is no commentary for this verse.
The words yagna-bhavitah means honoured by worship. The worship of pleasing the demi-gods in which Lord Krishna also resides as the atma or soul will confer on those whose perform it whatever prosperity and abundance they have prayed for. This means that by receiving these things as such one is able to worship the demi-gods and receive from them perpetually by offerings and worship to them with regularity. But if one should try to enjoy the gifts granted by them without first offering them back beforehand then such a person is a thief for misappropriating what was not sanctioned by the act of yagna or appeasement. Stena eva sah means one is certainly a thief. A thief is one who executes chaurya or larceny. The definition of larceny is the intention of or act of one to misappropriate property for oneself for the use of which they have no right which factually belongs to others. Thus to one of this nature and this description there is not only forfeiture and exemption from moksa or liberation from the cycle of birth and death but there will also be suffering for these sins in the infernal regions of the hellish planets described in Canto V of the Bhagavat Purana. This same subject is further explained in the next verse .
The words yagna-bhavitah means honoured by worship. The worship of pleasing the demi-gods in which Lord Krishna also resides as the atma or soul will confer on those whose perform it whatever prosperity and abundance they have prayed for. This means that by receiving these things as such one is able to worship the demi-gods and receive from them perpetually by offerings and worship to them with regularity. But if one should try to enjoy the gifts granted by them without first offering them back beforehand then such a person is a thief for misappropriating what was not sanctioned by the act of yagna or appeasement. Stena eva sah means one is certainly a thief. A thief is one who executes chaurya or larceny. The definition of larceny is the intention of or act of one to misappropriate property for oneself for the use of which they have no right which factually belongs to others. Thus to one of this nature and this description there is not only forfeiture and exemption from moksa or liberation from the cycle of birth and death but there will also be suffering for these sins in the infernal regions of the hellish planets described in Canto V of the Bhagavat Purana. This same subject is further explained in the next verse .
Ishtaan bhogaan hi vo devaa daasyante yajnabhaavitaah; Tair dattaan apradaayaibhyo yo bhungkte stena eva sah.
iṣhṭān—desired; bhogān—necessities of life; hi—certainly; vaḥ—unto you; devāḥ—the celestial gods; dāsyante—will grant; yajña-bhāvitāḥ—satisfied by sacrifice; taiḥ—by them; dattān—things granted; apradāya—without offering; ebhyaḥ—to them; yaḥ—who; bhuṅkte—enjoys; stenaḥ—thieves; eva—verily; saḥ—they
