Text 4]
The Structure of the Universe
277
te 'pi mām eva kaunteya yajanty avidhi-pūrvakam
“Devotees who worship the demigods with firm faith worship Me also, but not according to regulative principles.” In other words, if one worships the demigods but does not understand the relationship between the demigods and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, his worship is irregular. Kṛṣṇa also says in  Bhagavad-gītā  (9.24),  ahaṁ hi sarva-yajñānāṁ bhoktā ca prabhur eva ca : “I am the only enjoyer of ritualistic ceremonies.”
It may be argued that the demigods are as important as Lord Viṣṇu because the names of the demigods are different names of Viṣṇu. This, however, is not a sound conclusion, for it is contradicted in the Vedic literatures. The  Vedas  declare:
candramā manaso jātaś cakṣoḥ sūryo ajāyata. śrotrādayaś ca prāṇaś ca mukhād agnir ajāyata. nārāyaṇād brahmā, nārāyaṇād rudro jāyate, nārāyaṇāt prajāpatiḥ jāyate, nārāyaṇād indro jāyate, nārāyaṇād aṣṭau vasavo jāyante, nārāyaṇād ekādaśa rudrā jāyante.
“The demigod of the moon, Candra, came from the mind of Nārāyaṇa, and the sun-god came from His eyes. The controlling deities of hearing and the life air came from Nārāyaṇa, and the controlling deity of fire was generated from His mouth. Prajāpati, Lord Brahmā, came from Nārāyaṇa. Indra came from Nārāyaṇa, and the eight Vasus, the eleven expansions of Lord Śiva and the twelve Ādityas also came from Nārāyaṇa.” In the  smṛti  Vedic literature it is also said:
brahmā śambhus tathaivārkaś candramāś ca śatakratuḥ evam ādyās tathaivānye yuktā vaiṣṇava-tejasā
jagat-kāryāvasāne tu viyujyante ca tejasā vitejaś ca te sarve pañcatvam upayānti te