SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
SlOkam – Original
kAnkshantha: karmaNAm sidhdhim yajantha iha dhEvathA: |
kshipraṁ hi mAnushE lOkE sidhdhir bhavathi karmajA ||
word-by-word meaning
iha – (All) in this world
karmaNAm – for karmas (actions)
sidhdhim – result
kAnkshantha: – being desirous
dhEvathA: – dhEvathAs (celestial beings) starting with indhra et al
yajanthE – worship (through their karmas).
(There are not many who worship me without desire for mundane results.)
hi – this is because
mAnushE lOkE – in this mortal realm (filled with humans)
karmajA – caused by karma
sidhdhi: – results (such as children, cows, food etc)
kshipram – quickly
bhavathi – attained
Simple Translation
As results caused by karma are attained in this mortal realm quickly, all the people in this world being desirous for the results of their karma worship dhEvathAs (celestial beings) starting with indhra et al through their karma. There are not many who worship me without desire for mundane results.
Rendering based on ALkoNdavilli gOvindhAchArya swAmy’s English translation of gIthA bhAshyam
‘Those who wish for the fulfilment of works, worship the devatas (lower gods) here. In mortal realms, work-born fruit is speedily realized.’
Generally all men, who long for the fruit of their works, worship Indra[3. The Ruler of svarga, —the paradise or material heaven. He is also a Vedic Deity. He is the Original of Jupiter Tonans of the West and the Thor of the North. Derived from the root ind, to govern. Consult Vishṇu Purāṇa and other works for various accounts of Indra.], and other devatas(material celestials). It is seldom that one takes to My worship —Me, Who am the Soul of Indra and other gods,— and Who am the actual Recipient of all Sacrifices (Yajñās).
Why is this the case? Because the workers readily find the fulfilment of their works in the mortal regions alone, such as obtaining progeny, cattle, food etc., (all, —material prosperity).
Manushya-loka=mortal world: implies all material spheres, svarga etc., (included in the material globe, the brahmānḍa, the mundane egg).
People of the world, witless by reason of the vast past accumulation of sins not having exhausted itself, desire for immediate fruit, to secure which, therefore, they readily resort to the worship of Indra and other minor deities. The fruit is either prosperity in this world, such as offspring, food, cattle etc., or prosperity in higher spheres, such as obtaining svarga.
He is rare, who dreading samsāra[4. Lit: that which ‘runs or courses’; means the circuit or circle of wordly existence, mundane life, material existence, matter-tied or matter-consorting existence, conditioned secular career, or matter-soul existence, coursing through a transmigratory revolution of births and deaths alternating. In Indian terms, Purusha consorting with Prakriti (or spirit-matter combination).] in his heart, aspires for moksha; who would therefore engage in karma-yoga, as a duty, —as worship rendered to Me.
(The next verse) points out the way how to get rid of sins which obstruct the undertaking of the kind of karma-yoga described above.
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