Mūla — the verse
Gita Press numberingTranslation
Swami Gambhīrānanda · follows Śaṅkara-bhāṣyaBut that sacrifice which is performed with an aim for a result, as well as for show—know that sacrifice to be done through rajas, O greatest among the descendants of Bharata.
हिन्दी अनुवाद — Swami Tejomayānanda
हे भरतश्रेष्ठ अर्जुन ! जो यज्ञ दम्भ के लिए तथा फल की आकांक्षा रख कर किया जाता है, उस यज्ञ को तुम राजस समझो।।
Pronunciation — Vaamshii
from VaamshiiWord by word
padārthaMeaning — Questions & Solutions
from Q&A with KnA“As is a man’s faith, so verily is he (śraddhā-mayo’yaṃ puruṣaḥ): what his faith is, that he is” (17.3) — one of the Gītā’s most quoted lines, and a whole psychology in seven words. K then applies the threefold analysis: the object of worship (17.4) — the sattvic worship the devas (the higher, ordering powers); the rajasic, the yakṣas and rakṣas (powers of wealth and force); the tamasic, ghosts and spirits (the dark and confused). Food (17.8–10) — the sattvic prefer foods that promote life, strength, health, cheer — savoury, wholesome, nourishing; the rajasic crave the bitter, sour, salty, burning-hot, harsh, which breed pain and disease; the tamasic take the stale, tasteless, putrid, left-over and impure. Sacrifice (17.11–13) — the sattvic offer as duty, without desire for fruit, according to the ordinance; the rajasic offer for show and with an eye to reward; the tamasic offer without faith, without gifts, without sacred word or rule. Note how the analysis reaches even to the plate: the Gītā takes seriously that what we eat shapes the mind that worships (recall “what we eat, we become”, 3.12). Spirituality here is not walled off from diet, motive and manner; the guṇa pervades the whole.