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BG 3.11 — 3.11 With this do ye nourish the gods and may those gods nourish you; thus nourishing one another, ye shall attain to the highest good.
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देवान्भावयतानेन ते देवा भावयन्तु वः |
परस्परं भावयन्तः श्रेयः परमवाप्स्यथ ||३-११||

devānbhāvayatānena te devā bhāvayantu vaḥ . parasparaṃ bhāvayantaḥ śreyaḥ paramavāpsyatha ||3-11||


3.11 With this do ye nourish the gods and may those gods nourish you; thus nourishing one another, ye shall attain to the highest good.

Word-by-word meanings

3.11 देवान् the gods? भावयत nourish (ye)? अनेन with this? ते those? देवाः gods? भावयन्तु may nourish? वः you? परस्परम् one another? भावयन्तः nourishing? श्रेयः good? परम् the highest? अवाप्स्यथ shall attain.Commentary Deva literally means the shining one. By this sacrifice you nourish the gods such as Indra. The gods shall nourish you with rain? etc. the highest good is the attainment of the knowledge of the Self which frees one from the round of births and deaths. The highest good may mean the

Commentaries

Non-dualism. The individual self and Brahman are one. The world is appearance (maya). Liberation through knowledge.

Sri Shankaracharya

3.11 'Bhavayata, you nourish; devan, the gods, Indra and others; anena, with this sarifice. Let te devah, those gods; bhavayantu, nourish; vah, you-make you contented with rainfall etc. Thus bhavayantah, nourishing; parasparam, one another; avapsyatha, you shall attain; the param, supreme; sreyah, Good, called Liberation, through the attainment of Knowledge;' or, 'you shall attain heaven-which is meant by param 'sreyah.' [The param sreyah (supreme Good) will either mean liberation or heaven in accordance with aspirant's hankering for Liberation or enjoyment.] Moreover,

(Showing excerpt)

Swami Gambirananda

3.11 'You nourish the gods with this. Let those gods nourish you. Nourishing one another, you shall attain the supreme Good.'

This interpretation draws on the Advaita tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.

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