Chapter 17, Verse 12
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||
Meaning
17.12 The sacrifice which is offered, O Arjuna, seeking a reward and for ostentation, know thou that to be a Rajasic Yajna.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Rajasic sacrifice is defined by two motives: abhisandhaya phalam — performing it with a definite eye on the reward — and dambha-artham, doing it for display and reputation. The outer form may be flawless, even lavish, but the inner driver is gain and image. Worship becomes a transaction or a performance staged for the approval of others.
The teaching exposes a subtle trap that pervades religious and worldly life alike. We can do all the right things outwardly while the heart remains entangled in ambition and self-promotion. Krishna does not condemn the act itself but its contamination by craving and pride. The same gesture of offering can be pure or impure depending entirely on what the mind is reaching for. Where the deed is bent toward fruit and applause, its spiritual value is diminished, however impressive it appears.
💡 Key Takeaway
Doing the right things for reward or applause hollows them out — examine whether your good acts seek gain and image rather than truth.
Related Verses
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.
अशास्त्रविहितं घोरं तप्यन्ते ये तपो जनाः | दम्भाहंकारसंयुक्ताः कामरागबलान्विताः ||१७-५||
aśāstravihitaṃ ghoraṃ tapyante ye tapo janāḥ . dambhāhaṃkārasaṃyuktāḥ kāmarāgabalānvitāḥ ||17-5||
17.5 Those men who practise terrific austerities not enjoined by the scriptures, given to hypocrisy and egoism, impelled by the force of lust and attachment.
कर्षयन्तः शरीरस्थं भूतग्राममचेतसः | मां चैवान्तःशरीरस्थं तान्विद्ध्यासुरनिश्चयान् ||१७-६||
karṣayantaḥ śarīrasthaṃ bhūtagrāmamacetasaḥ . māṃ caivāntaḥśarīrasthaṃ tānviddhyāsuraniścayān ||17-6||
17.6 Senseless, torturing all the elements in the body and Me also, Who dwell in the body, know thou these to be of demonical resolves.