इष्टान्भोगान्हि वो देवा दास्यन्ते यज्ञभाविताः।
तैर्दत्तानप्रदायैभ्यो यो भुङ्क्ते स्तेन एव सः।।3.12।।
।।3.12।।यज्ञसे भावित (पुष्ट) हुए देवता भी तुमलोगोंको (बिना माँगे ही) कर्तव्यपालनकी आवश्यक सामग्री देते रहेंगे। इस प्रकार उन देवताओंसे प्राप्त हुई सामग्रीको दूसरोंकी सेवामें लगाये बिना जो मनुष्य स्वयं ही उसका उपभोग करता है वह चोर ही है।
3.12 Yajna-bhavitah, being nourished, i.e. being satisfied, by sacrifices; devah, the gods; dasyante hi, will indeed give, will distribute; among vah, you; the istan, coveted; bhogan, enjoyments, such as wife, childeren and cattle. Sah, he; is eva, certainly; a stenah, thief, a stealer of the wealth of gods and others; yah, who; bhunkte, enjoys, gratifies only his own body and organs; with dattan, what enjoyable things have been given; taih, by them, by the gods; apradaya, without offering (these); hyah, to them, i.e. without repaying the d [The three kinds of d -to the gods, to the rsis (sage), and to the manes-are repaid by satisfying them through sacrifices, celibacy (including study of the Vedas, etc.), and procreation, respectively. Unless one repays these d s, he incurs sin.] to them.
3.12 Istan etc. [The deities of] the senses, gratified by the necessry actions, bind [the aspirants mind] to the state of remaining firm on some object of meditation. Therefore when they are at work, the things, i.e., the objects are granted [to him] by none but the [deities of the] senses, through recollection, resolution, meditation etc., of their objects. If these objects are not offered for the enjoyment of the deities, then it would amount to the status of a theif i.e., to an act of thief, because he is acting deceitfully. Indeed it has already been declared by the Bhagavat that He is called a man of deluded action. Therefore the idea in the passage [under study] is this : Whosoever is desirous of attaining by easy means, the supernatural power [like anima etc.], or of attaining emancipation, he should enjoy the objects as and when they are brought, [and enjoy] just with the aim of simply alliviating the impatience of the [deities of the] senses.
3.12 Pleased by the sacrifice, i.e., propitiated by the sacrifice, the gods, who have Me as their Self, will bestow on you the enjoyments you desire. Whatever objects are desired by persons keen on attaining release, the supreme end of human endeavour, all those will be granted by gods previously worshipped through many sacrifices. That is, whatever is solicited with more and more propitiation, all those enjoyments they will bestow on you. Whoever enjoys the objects of enjoyment granted by them for the purpose of worshipping them, without giving them their due share in return - he is verily a thief. What is called theft is indeed taking what belongs to another as ones own and using it for oneself, when it is really designed for the purpose of another. The purport is that such a person becomes unfit not only for the supreme end of human endeavour, but also will go down towards purgatory (Naraka). Sri Krsna expands the same:
Ishtaan bhogaan hi vo devaa daasyante yajnabhaavitaah; Tair dattaan apradaayaibhyo yo bhungkte stena eva sah.
iṣhṭān—desired; bhogān—necessities of life; hi—certainly; vaḥ—unto you; devāḥ—the celestial gods; dāsyante—will grant; yajña-bhāvitāḥ—satisfied by sacrifice; taiḥ—by them; dattān—things granted; apradāya—without offering; ebhyaḥ—to them; yaḥ—who; bhuṅkte—enjoys; stenaḥ—thieves; eva—verily; saḥ—they