Sanskrit
सहयज्ञाः प्रजाः सृष्ट्वा पुरोवाच प्रजापतिः । अनेन प्रसविष्यध्वमेष वोऽस्त्विष्टकामधुक् ॥
sahayajñāḥ prajāḥ sṛṣṭvā purovāca prajāpatiḥ anena prasaviṣyadhvam eṣa vo'stv iṣṭakāmadhuk
Translation
Having in ancient times emanated mankind together with sacrifice, the Lord of emanation said: "By this shall ye propagate; be this to you the giver of desire;
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Krishna backs verse 9’s claim with an origin myth: Prajapati created humanity together with sacrifice built in, not added on. The quoted speech opening here runs through verse 12 in the source text — the old typesetting reopens the quotation mark at the start of each verse it spans, and only closes once the mythic charter is complete. The argument being built is that yajna isn’t a human invention layered onto self-interested action; it’s the original condition of action itself. The image of the kāma-dhuk, the cow that yields whatever is wished, frames reciprocal offering as abundant rather than costly — a system that feeds its participants, developed over the next two verses.
Study deeper
Word by word
- sahayajñāḥसहयज्ञाः
- together with sacrifice (saha-yajñāḥ)
- prajāḥप्रजाः
- creatures, mankind
- sṛṣṭvāसृष्ट्वा
- having created
- purovācaपुरोवाच
- of old said (purā + uvāca)
- prajāpatiḥप्रजापतिः
- Prajāpati, the Lord of creatures
- anenaअनेन
- by this
- prasaviṣyadhvamप्रसविष्यध्वं
- may you bring forth, propagate
- eṣaएष
- let this
- vo'stvवोऽस्त्व्
- be for you (vaḥ + astu)
- iṣṭakāmadhukइष्टकामधुक्
- the wish-granting cow of desires (iṣṭa-kāma-dhuk)
Commentary
Site Commentary
Prajapati doesn’t add sacrifice to humanity after the fact — he emanates people “together with” it, saha, simultaneously rather than sequentially. The claim being smuggled in is structural: yajna isn’t an ethical add-on layered onto a life that could otherwise run without it, it’s built into what human life already is from its origin.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- Don't treat ethical practice as something you bolt onto an already-complete life when you get around to it — build it in from the start of whatever you're doing, the way this verse insists it was never separable from human life to begin with.
Professional
- Don't treat responsible practice — security review, accessibility, documentation — as an add-on you attach to a finished product later. Build it into the thing from its origin, the way this verse insists sacrifice was never separate from human creation itself.
Family & Social
- Don't treat consideration for family as an extra you layer onto a busy life when there's time left over — build it into how you structure your time from the start, the way this verse insists the two were never actually separable.
Ask yourself
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