Chapter 16, Verse 17
आत्मसम्भाविताः स्तब्धा धनमानमदान्विताः | यजन्ते नामयज्ञैस्ते दम्भेनाविधिपूर्वकम् ||१६-१७||
ātmasambhāvitāḥ stabdhā dhanamānamadānvitāḥ . yajante nāmayajñaiste dambhenāvidhipūrvakam ||16-17||
Meaning
16.17 Self-conceited, stubborn, filled with the pride and intoxication of wealth, they perform sacrifices in name out of ostentation, contrary to scriptural ordinances.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna returns to the theme of corrupted worship. Atma-sambhavita (self-esteeming) and stabdha (stubborn, rigid), intoxicated by dhana-mana — the pride of wealth — such people do perform yajnas, but only nama-yajnaih, sacrifices in name alone. The outer form is preserved while the inner spirit is hollow.
The key words are dambha (ostentation) and avidhi-purvakam (without regard for the prescribed way). Worship has become theatre, a means to display status rather than to surrender the ego. Krishna's critique is pointed and timeless: religious activity itself offers no protection when it serves vanity. A sacrifice meant to dissolve the 'I' is being used to inflate it. The teaching gently turns the mirror on every sincere seeker — to ask not merely whether we perform our practices, but whether we perform them to be seen, or to be transformed.
💡 Key Takeaway
Ritual performed for show, however grand, is empty — true worship must humble the ego, not flatter it.
Related Verses
दम्भो दर्पोऽभिमानश्च क्रोधः पारुष्यमेव च | अज्ञानं चाभिजातस्य पार्थ सम्पदमासुरीम् ||१६-४||
dambho darpo.abhimānaśca krodhaḥ pāruṣyameva ca . ajñānaṃ cābhijātasya pārtha sampadamāsurīm ||16-4||
16.4 Hypocrisy, arrogance and self-conceit, anger and also harshness and ignorance, belong to one who is born for a demoniacal state, O Partha (Arjuna).
द्वौ भूतसर्गौ लोकेऽस्मिन्दैव आसुर एव च | दैवो विस्तरशः प्रोक्त आसुरं पार्थ मे शृणु ||१६-६||
dvau bhūtasargau loke.asmindaiva āsura eva ca . daivo vistaraśaḥ prokta āsuraṃ pārtha me śṛṇu ||16-6||
16.6 There are two types of beings in this world, the divine and the demoniacal; the divine has been described at length; hear from Me, O Arjuna, of the demoniacal.
प्रवृत्तिं च निवृत्तिं च जना न विदुरासुराः | न शौचं नापि चाचारो न सत्यं तेषु विद्यते ||१६-७||
pravṛttiṃ ca nivṛttiṃ ca janā na vidurāsurāḥ . na śaucaṃ nāpi cācāro na satyaṃ teṣu vidyate ||16-7||
16.7 The demoniacal know not what to do and what to refrain from; neither purity, nor right conduct nor truth is found in them.