Text 17]
Ideal Family Life
165
na hy agni-mukhato 'yaṁ vai bhagavān sarva-yajña-bhuk ijyeta haviṣā rājan yathā vipra-mukhe hutaiḥ
na —not;  hi —indeed;  agni —fire;  mukhataḥ —from the mouth or the flames;  ayam —this;  vai —certainly;  bhagavān —Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa;  sarva-yajña-bhuk —the enjoyer of the results of all kinds of sacrifices;  ijyeta —is worshiped;  haviṣā —by offering of clarified butter;  rājan —O King;  yathā —as much as;  vipra-mukhe —through the mouth of a  brāhmaṇa ;  hutaiḥ —by offering him first-class food.
TRANSLATION
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is the enjoyer of sacrificial offerings. Yet although His Lordship eats the oblations offered in the fire, my dear King, He is still more satisfied when nice food made of grains and ghee is offered to Him through the mouths of qualified brāhmaṇas.
PURPORT
As stated in  Bhagavad-gītā  (3.9),  yajñārthāt karmaṇo 'nyatra loko 'yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ : all fruitive activities should be performed for sacrifice, which should be directed toward pleasing Kṛṣṇa. As stated elsewhere in  Bhagavad-gītā  (5.29),  bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram : He is the Supreme Lord and enjoyer of everything. However, although sacrifice may be offered to please Kṛṣṇa, He is more pleased when grains and ghee, instead of being offered in the fire, are prepared as  prasāda  and distributed, first to the  brāhmaṇas  and then to others. This system pleases Kṛṣṇa more than anything else. Furthermore, at the present time there is very little chance to offer sacrifices by pouring oblations of food grains and ghee into the fire. Especially in India, there is practically no ghee; for everything that should be done with ghee, people use a certain type of oil preparation. Oil, however, is never recommended for offering in a sacrificial fire. In Kali-yuga, the available quantity of food grains and ghee is gradually diminishing, and people are embarrassed that they cannot produce sufficient ghee and food grains.