Text 6]
The Activities of King Bharata
255
icchānurūpam api yasya ca ceṣṭate sā govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
Following the orders of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the goddess Durgā creates, maintains and annihilates. Śrī Kṛṣṇa also confirms this statement in  Bhagavad-gītā .  Mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram:  “This material nature is working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, and it is producing all moving and unmoving beings.” (Bg. 9.10)
We should worship the demigods in that spirit. Because the goddess Durgā satisfies Kṛṣṇa, we should therefore offer respects to goddess Durgā. Because Lord Śiva is nothing but Kṛṣṇa’s functional body, we should therefore offer respects to Lord Śiva. Similarly, we should offer respects to Brahmā, Agni and Sūrya. There are many offerings to different demigods, and one should always remember that these offerings are usually meant to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Bharata Mahārāja did not aspire to receive some benediction from demigods. His aim was to please the Supreme Lord. In the  Mahābhārata , among the thousand names of Viṣṇu, it is said  yajña-bhug yajña-kṛd yajñaḥ . The enjoyer of  yajña , the performer of  yajña  and  yajña  itself are the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord is the performer of everything, but out of ignorance the living entity thinks that he is the actor. As long as we think we are the actors, we bring about  karma-bandha  (bondage to activity). If we act for  yajña , for Kṛṣṇa, there is no  karma-bandha .  Yajñārthāt karmaṇo ’nyatra loko ’yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ:  “Work done as a sacrifice for Viṣṇu has to be performed, otherwise work binds one to this material world.” (Bg. 3.9)
Following the instructions of Bharata Mahārāja, we should act not for our personal satisfaction but for the satisfaction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In  Bhagavad-gītā  (17.28) it is also stated:
aśraddhayā hutaṁ dattaṁ tapas taptaṁ kṛtam ca yat asad ity ucyate pārtha na ca tat pretya no iha
Sacrifices, austerities and charities performed without faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead are nonpermanent. Regardless of