9.26 pathram pushpam palam thOyam

SrI:  SrImathE SatakOpAya nama:  SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama:  SrImath varavaramunayE nama:

Chapter 9

<< Chapter 9 verse 25

SlOkam – Original

pathram pushpam palam thOyam yO mE bhakthyA prayachchathi |
thadhaham bhakthyupahrutham aSnAmi prayathAthmana: ||

word-by-word meaning

ya: – he who
pathram – leaf
pushpam – flower
palam – fruit
thOyam – water
mE – to me
bhakthyA – with love
prayachchathi – submits
prayathAthmana – who has pure heart
bhakthi upahrutham thatha – such material which is dedicated with love
aham – I
aSnAmi – accept/eat/enjoy

Simple Translation

He who submits a leaf, flower, fruit or water to me with love, I accept/eat/enjoy such material which is dedicated with love by that pure hearted person.

Rendering based on ALkoNdavilli gOvindhAchArya swAmy’s English translation of gIthA bhAshyam

‘Whoso, in love, proffers Me a leaf, a flower, a fruit, water; —what is so lovingly dedicated in purity of heart,— I do enjoy.’

‘Whoso offers Me a leaf, or a flower, or a fruit or (a little) water —the most easily obtainable articles— in love.’ Love is loving Me so ardently as that without dedicating for My acceptance something, the devotee finds himself unable to tolerate his very existence, and so impassionately does he love Me as to feel that the very act of paying Me homage of leaf etc., is in itself a fulfilment of his grand aim, (prayojana).

Prayat-ātma is the pure-minded devotee, purity consisting in the attitude of the mind in dedicating the offering with motives of pure devotion and love, which per se is his highest ambition fulfilled. Leaf etc., are offerings brought by such a person.

‘I’=The Lord of all; He to Whom all the Universe’s coming into existence, its marvellous show and its disappearance are like sport; He Whose will is unalterable; He Who is all-satisfied; He, Whose glorious attributes are illimitable and transcendent;

Though I, as such, am naturally in the enjoyment of supreme felicity, yet do I enjoy the offering brought Me (in the manner aforesaid), as if I came (anew) in possession of a treat so rare as to be beyond the most distant expectations of a desiring heart. It is thus declared in the Moksha-Dharma:—

‘Whatsoever acts are consecrated to the Deva (God) with single-pointed devotion, the Deva Himself, forsooth, accepts them all on His head.’[1. 1. Mahā-bhā, Śānti-parva, 171-63, 63.5: ‘Yāḥ kriyāḥ samprayuktāssyur ekāntagata-buddhibhiḥ, tās-sarvās śirasā Devaḥ pratigṛiṇhāti vaisvayam’.]

Inasmuch as such is the special character of the noble-souled jñānīs (God-saints), beyond measure of speech or thought, do you also therefore become such a jñāni; do you, yourself and your, bend under the load of such God-love (bhakti) as has been described; do you ever be singing My praises, doing My services, worshipping Me, and prostrating before Me; and do you perform your secular, and religious duties, —daily and casual,— in the manner stated in:—

>> Chapter 9 verse 27

archived in http://githa.koyil.org

pramEyam (goal) – http://koyil.org
pramANam (scriptures) – http://granthams.koyil.org
pramAthA (preceptors) – http://acharyas.koyil.org
SrIvaishNava education/kids portal – http://pillai.koyil.