एवमहं ब्राह्मणानेव सेवे मद्दृष्ट्या च ये ब्राह्मणान्सेवमाना भवेयुस्त एव मत्सेवकाः, यतो ब्राह्मणमुखेनैवाहं भुञ्जे इत्याह—नाहमिति । … चरतो भुञ्जानस्य मयि समर्पितैः कर्मफलैस्तुष्टस्येत्यनेन तथा ‘विप्राणां देवदेवानां भगवानात्मदैवतम्’ इत्यग्रिमवाक्येन ब्राह्मणस्य भक्तिराहित्ये सत्यपूज्यत्वमभिव्यज्य ‘श्वपाकमिव नेक्षेत लोके विप्रमवैष्णवम्’ इत्यादि वचनविरोधः परिहृतः । अवैष्णवं वैष्णवविद्वेषिणमिति तत्रार्थो द्रष्टव्यः । एवं च भक्तिमिश्रस्वधर्मवानेव ब्राह्मणो भवति, यथा वशिष्टादिः । भक्तेः कैवल्ये प्राधान्ये सति जात्या ब्राह्मणोऽपि वैष्णव एवोच्यते, यथा श्रीनारदादिरिति विवेचनीयम् ।
evam ahaṁ brāhmaṇān eva seve mad-dṛṣṭyā ca ye brāhmaṇān sevamānā bhaveyus ta eva mat-sevakāḥ, yato brāhmaṇa-mukhenaivāhaṁ bhuñje ity āha—nāham iti | … carato bhuñjānasya mayi samarpitaiḥ karma-phalais tuṣṭasyety anena tathā ‘viprāṇāṁ deva-devānāṁ bhagavān ātma-daivatam’ ity agrima-vākyena brāhmaṇasya bhakti-rāhitye saty apūjyatvam abhivyajya ‘śvapākam iva nekṣeta loke vipram avaiṣṇavam’ ity ādi vacana-virodhaḥ parihṛtaḥ | avaiṣṇavaṁ vaiṣṇava-vidveṣiṇam iti tatrārtho draṣṭavyaḥ | evaṁ ca bhakti-miśra-svadharmavān eva brāhmaṇo bhavati, yathā vaśiṣṭādiḥ | bhakteḥ kaivalye prādhānye sati jātyā brāhmaṇo’pi vaiṣṇava evocyate, yathā śrī-nāradādir iti vivecanīyam |
(Excerpt from the Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.16.8)
“I worship the brāhmaṇas specifically, and only they who shall become engaged in worship of brāhmaṇas are [accepted by me as] worshipers of myself since I eat specifically through the mouth of brāhmaṇas. Thus, he says nāham … [i.e., Bhagavān Viṣṇu speaks SB 3.16.8]. … ’An eating (carataḥ) brāhmaṇa satisfied with the results of his own actions offered to me’—by this [statement in SB 3.16.8 which indicates that it is part of the code of conduct incumbent upon a brāhmaṇa to offer the results of his actions to Viṣṇu] and by the forthcoming statement [in SB 3.16.17], ‘Bhagavān is the Self and Daivata [i.e., object of worship] of the brāhmaṇas—[who are] the devas [i.e., objects of worship] of [even] the devas,’ a contradiction with the statement indicative of a brāhmaṇa’s non-honorability when he is devoid of bhakti [in the Māgha-māhātmya of Padma Purāṇa], ‘Like a dog-cooker [is not to be looked at], one not should look at a non-Vaiṣṇava brāhmaṇa in this world’ is refuted. The meaning of the word ‘non-Vaiṣṇava’ (Avaiṣṇava) there [i.e., in this verse from Padma Purāṇa] is to be see as an antagonist of Vaiṣṇavas [i.e., the ‘non-Vaiṣṇava’ (Avaiṣṇava) brāhmaṇa spoken of in this verse should understood to refer not any brāhmaṇa who is not a devout Vaiṣṇava but rather to a brāhmaṇa who is antagonistic towards Vaiṣṇavas specifically]. In this way, furthermore, specifically one who is adherent to svadharma [i.e., the duties of one’s varṇa and āśrama] mixed with [engagement in] bhakti [secondarily as a sub-part of adherence to svadharma] is [regarded as being] a brāhmaṇa [and not a Vaiṣṇava], as in the case of Vaśiṣṭha and others. Even a brāhmaṇa by birth (jāti) [i.e., even someone born into a family of brāhmaṇas, on the contrary] is called a Vaiṣṇava specifically [i.e., and not simply called a brāhmaṇa] when he has an exclusivity or predominance of bhakti [i.e., when, unlike a brāhmaṇa as afore defined, one is devoted to bhakti exclusively, that is, to the exclusion of observance of svadharma, or predominantly, that is, over and above observance svadharma which one may continue to observe only secondarily and without śraddhā for the sake of social cohesion], as in the case of Śrī Nārada and others. This is to be discerned.”