Chapter 17, Verse 1
अर्जुन उवाच | ये शास्त्रविधिमुत्सृज्य यजन्ते श्रद्धयान्विताः | तेषां निष्ठा तु का कृष्ण सत्त्वमाहो रजस्तमः ||१७-१||
arjuna uvāca . ye śāstravidhimutsṛjya yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ . teṣāṃ niṣṭhā tu kā kṛṣṇa sattvamāho rajastamaḥ ||17-1||
Meaning
17.1 Arjuna said Those who, setting aside the ordinances of the scriptures, perform sacrifice with faith, what is their condition, O Krishna? Is is Sattva, Rajas or Tamas?
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Arjuna opens the final movement of Krishna's teaching with a precise and very human question. At the close of the previous chapter, Krishna had insisted that shastra-vidhi — the guidance of scripture — should be one's standard for action. But Arjuna notices that many people worship sincerely, with genuine shraddha (faith), yet without following any formal scriptural rule. What of them? Are they pure (sattvic), passionate (rajasic), or dark (tamasic)?
The question is generous and reveals Arjuna's spiritual maturity. He is not eager to condemn the unlettered devotee; he wants to understand where heartfelt faith stands when it lacks instruction. This single inquiry launches the whole of Chapter 17, in which Krishna will show that faith itself is coloured by the three gunas — and that sincerity, while precious, still needs to be refined by knowledge.
💡 Key Takeaway
Sincere faith deserves understanding, not quick judgement — but faith still needs the guidance of wisdom to bear true fruit.
Related Verses
श्रीभगवानुवाच | त्रिविधा भवति श्रद्धा देहिनां सा स्वभावजा | सात्त्विकी राजसी चैव तामसी चेति तां शृणु ||१७-२||
śrībhagavānuvāca . trividhā bhavati śraddhā dehināṃ sā svabhāvajā . sāttvikī rājasī caiva tāmasī ceti tāṃ śṛṇu ||17-2||
17.2 The Blessed Lord said Threefold is the faith of the embodied, which is inherent in their nature the Sattvic (pure), the Rajasic (passionate) and the Tamasic (dark). Do thou hear of it.
सत्त्वानुरूपा सर्वस्य श्रद्धा भवति भारत | श्रद्धामयोऽयं पुरुषो यो यच्छ्रद्धः स एव सः ||१७-३||
sattvānurūpā sarvasya śraddhā bhavati bhārata . śraddhāmayo.ayaṃ puruṣo yo yacchraddhaḥ sa eva saḥ ||17-3||
17.3 The faith of each is in accordance with his nature, O Arjuna. The man consists of his faith; as a man's faith is, so is he.
यजन्ते सात्त्विका देवान्यक्षरक्षांसि राजसाः | प्रेतान्भूतगणांश्चान्ये यजन्ते तामसा जनाः ||१७-४||
yajante sāttvikā devānyakṣarakṣāṃsi rājasāḥ . pretānbhūtagaṇāṃścānye yajante tāmasā janāḥ ||17-4||
17.4 The Sattvic or the pure men worship the gods; the Rajasic or the passionate worship the Yakshas and the Rakshasas; the others (the Tamasic or the deluded people) worship the ghosts and the hosts of the nature-spirits.