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I read this verse stated by Lord Shiva to Devi Parvati -

ārādhanaṃ sarveṣāṃ viṣṇor ārādhanaṃ paraṃ
of all kinds of worship, worship of Lord Vishnu is the best.

Further -

tasmāt parataraṁ devi tadīyānāṁ samarcanam:
and better than the worship of Lord Viṣṇu is the worship of His devotee, the Vaiṣṇava.."

Source(1)

Srila Prabhupada in his lectures has attributed this very verse to three different puranas - Devi (2), Shiva (3) and Padma (4).

I feel that it is highly unlikely that the same verse exists in all three puranas. So I searched online but couldn't find the source. While searching I found that most of the times in his commentaries to Bhagavatam and the Gita and also in the above link, Prabhupada attributes this to padma purana.

Questions:

1.Can somebody please point to the actual source of the verse (preferably purana and verse number with the [authentic] link) and clarify whether this is repeated in the aforementioned puranas?
2. Also can someone comment on the translation of the next part of the verse -

tasmāt parataraṁ devi tadīyānāṁ samarcanam

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    2. Also can someone comment on the translation of the next part of the verse It seems that the Lord appreciates more when we worship His devotee than Him, ie worship of his devotee is even more beneficial for one's spiritual advancement. Of course that doesn't mean we should abandon worship of the Lord. It just means that worship of his devotee is even more beneficial for one's spiritual advancement.
    – brahma jijnasa
    Feb 12, 2017 at 5:46

1 Answer 1

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Yes, the verse is from Padma Purāṇa (Uttara-kāṇḍa, Ch. 252-253: Modes of Viṣṇu's Worship)

You can find the Sanskrit verse in this PDF (p. 1079):

आराधनानांसर्वेषांविष्णोराराधनंपरम्
तस्मात्परतरंदेवितदीयानांसमर्चनम्    १७६

Below, in bold, is the meaning of the verse (from here). To provide some context, I've copied tr. of some adjoining verses as well.

175-179. Thus till he is alive, he should diligently worship Viṣṇu. O auspicious one, he should especially always honor those that belong to him. O goddess, of all worships that of Viṣṇu is the best. Therefore, honoring those that belong to him, is the best. He who would worship Viṣṇu, but would not honor those who belong to him should not be reckoned as Viṣṇu's devotee, but is known to be a hypocrite. Therefore, a man should always with (i.e. making an) effort honor those that belong to him. By means of honoring the best devotee of Viṣṇu, he overcomes the entire stream of difficulties. O goddess, thus I have described the excellent daily and occasional (obligatory) worship of Viṣṇu, so also that of those who belong to him.

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  • Thanks for the answer. Can you confirm whether this is repeated in the other two mentioned puranas?
    – Krist
    Feb 9, 2017 at 8:00
  • @Krist Unlikely it will be present in other Puranas you mention. Yes, I only answered your title question.
    – Say No To Censorship
    Feb 9, 2017 at 14:14

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