य उपासते विभूतीर्न परं त्वाम् ।
तेषामाशिष ईश
तदनु विनश्यन्ति यथा राजकुलम् ॥ ३८ ॥
ya upāsate vibhūtīr na paraṁ tvām
teṣām āśiṣa īśa
tad anu vinaśyanti yathā rāja-kulam
mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhīḥ
tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena
yajeta puruṣaṁ param
SYNONYMS
viṣaya-tṛṣaḥ—eager to enjoy sense gratification; nara-paśavaḥ—manlike animals; ye—who; upāsate—worship very gorgeously; vibhūtīḥ—small particles of the Supreme Lord (the demigods); na—not; param—the Supreme; tvām—You; teṣām—of them; āśiṣaḥ—the benedictions; īśa—O supreme controller; tat—them (the demigods); anu—after; vinaśyanti—will be vanquished; yathā—just as; rāja-kulam—those who are supported by the government (when the government is finished).
TRANSLATION
O Lord, O Supreme, unintelligent persons who thirst for sense enjoyment and who worship various demigods are no better than animals in the human form of life. Because of their animalistic propensities, they fail to worship Your Lordship, and instead they worship the insignificant demigods, who are but small sparks of Your glory. With the destruction of the entire universe, including the demigods, the benedictions received from the demigods also vanish, just like the nobility when a king is no longer in power.
PURPORT
Bhagavad-gītā (7.20) says, kāmais tais tair hṛta jñānāḥ prapadyante 'nya-devatāḥ:"Those whose minds are distorted by material desires surrender unto the demigods." Similarly, this verse condemns worship of the demigods. We may show our respect to the demigods, but the demigods are not worshipable. The intelligence of those who worship the demigods is lost (hṛta jñānāḥ) because these worshipers do not know that when the entire material cosmic manifestation is annihilated, the demigods, who are the departmental heads of that manifestation, will be vanquished. When the demigods are vanquished, the benedictions given by the demigods to unintelligent men will also be vanquished. Therefore a devotee should not hanker to obtain material opulence by worshiping the demigods, but should engage in the service of the Lord, who will satisfy all his desires.
mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhīḥ
tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena
yajeta puruṣaṁ param