Chapter 17, Verse 11
अफलाङ्क्षिभिर्यज्ञो विधिदृष्टो य इज्यते | यष्टव्यमेवेति मनः समाधाय स सात्त्विकः ||१७-११||
aphalāṅkṣibhiryajño vidhidṛṣṭo ya ijyate . yaṣṭavyameveti manaḥ samādhāya sa sāttvikaḥ ||17-11||
Meaning
17.11 That sacrifice which is offered by men without desire for reward as enjoined by the ordinance (scripture), with a firm faith that to do so is a duty, is Sattvic or pure.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna now applies the threefold lens to yajna (sacrifice), beginning with its purest form. Sattvic sacrifice is offered aphala-akankshibhih — by those who seek no reward — performed according to scriptural injunction, with the mind settled in the simple conviction yashtavyam eva: 'this is to be done because it ought to be done.' The act is its own justification; no bargaining with the Divine, no eye on personal gain.
This is the essence of selfless action carried into worship. Sattvic offering flows from duty and devotion rather than calculation. The mind is composed (manah samadhaya), neither anxious about results nor inflated by performance. Such purity of intention is what makes an act spiritually fruitful, precisely because the doer is not grasping at fruit. Here ritual becomes meditation, and obligation becomes love.
💡 Key Takeaway
Act and give for the sake of what is right, with a settled mind and no eye on reward — that purity of motive makes the deed truly sacred.
Related Verses
आहारस्त्वपि सर्वस्य त्रिविधो भवति प्रियः | यज्ञस्तपस्तथा दानं तेषां भेदमिमं शृणु ||१७-७||
āhārastvapi sarvasya trividho bhavati priyaḥ . yajñastapastathā dānaṃ teṣāṃ bhedamimaṃ śṛṇu ||17-7||
17.7 The food also which is dear to each is threefold, as also sacrifice, austerity and almsgiving. Hear thou the distinction of these.
आयुःसत्त्वबलारोग्यसुखप्रीतिविवर्धनाः | रस्याः स्निग्धाः स्थिरा हृद्या आहाराः सात्त्विकप्रियाः ||१७-८||
āyuḥsattvabalārogyasukhaprītivivardhanāḥ . rasyāḥ snigdhāḥ sthirā hṛdyā āhārāḥ sāttvikapriyāḥ ||17-8||
17.8 The foods which increase life, purity, strength, health, joy and cheerfulness (good appetite), which are savoury and oleaginous, substantial and agreeable, are dear to the Sattvic (pure) people.
अभिसन्धाय तु फलं दम्भार्थमपि चैव यत् | इज्यते भरतश्रेष्ठ तं यज्ञं विद्धि राजसम् ||१७-१२||
abhisandhāya tu phalaṃ dambhārthamapi caiva yat . ijyate bharataśreṣṭha taṃ yajñaṃ viddhi rājasam ||17-12||
17.12 The sacrifice which is offered, O Arjuna, seeking a reward and for ostentation, know thou that to be a Rajasic Yajna.