564
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 4, Ch. 13]
disciple is very submissive and devoted. As stated in the  Bhagavad-gītā , the process of receiving knowledge from the spiritual master entails submission, inquiry and service.
TEXT 25
मैत्रेय उवाच
अङ्गोऽश्वमेधं राजर्षिराजहार महाक्रतुम् । 
    नजग्गुदेवतास्तस्मिष्माहूता ब्रह्मवादिभिः ॥२५॥
maitreya uvāca 
    aṅgo 'śvamedham rājarṣir 
    ājahāra mahā-kratum 
    nājagmur devatās tasminn 
    āhūtā brahma-vādibhiḥ
maitreyaḥ uvāca —Maitreya answered;  aṅgaḥ —King Aṅga;  aśvamedham — aśvamedha  sacrifice;  rāja-rṣiḥ —the saintly king;  ājahāra —executed;  mahā-kratum —great sacrifice;  na —not;  ajagmuḥ —came;  devatāḥ —the demigods;  tasmin —in that sacrifice;  āhūtāḥ —being invited;  brahma-vādibhiḥ —by the  brāhmaṇas  expert in executing sacrifices.
TRANSLATION
Śrī Maitreya replied:  My dear Vidura, once the great King Aṅga arranged to perform the great sacrifice known as  aśvamedha . All the expert  brāhmaṇas  present knew how to invite the demigods, but in spite of their efforts, no demigods participated or appeared in that sacrifice.
PURPORT
A Vedic sacrifice is not an ordinary performance. The demigods used to participate in such sacrifices, and the animals sacrificed in such performances were reincarnated with new life. In this age of Kali there are no powerful  brāhmaṇas  who can invite the demigods or give renewed life to animals. Formerly, the  brāhmaṇas  well conversant in Vedic  mantras  could show the potency of the  mantras , but in this age, because there are no such  brāhmaṇas , all such sacrifices are forbidden. The sacrifice in which horses were offered was called  aśvamedha . Sometimes cows were sacrificed ( gavālambha ), not for eating purposes, but to give them new life in order to show the potency of the  mantra . In this age, therefore, the only practical  yajña  is  saṅkīrtana-yajña  or chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa  mantra  twenty-four hours a day.