Chapter 17, Verse 17
श्रद्धया परया तप्तं तपस्तत्त्रिविधं नरैः | अफलाकाङ्क्षिभिर्युक्तैः सात्त्विकं परिचक्षते ||१७-१७||
śraddhayā parayā taptaṃ tapastattrividhaṃ naraiḥ . aphalākāṅkṣibhiryuktaiḥ sāttvikaṃ paricakṣate ||17-17||
Meaning
17.17 This threefold austerity, practised by steadfast men, with the utmost faith, desiring no reward, they call Sattvic.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Having defined the three austerities of body, speech, and mind, Krishna now describes the spirit that makes them sattvic. When this threefold discipline is undertaken shraddhaya paraya — with supreme faith — by people who are yukta (steady and integrated) and aphala-akankshibhih (free of any craving for reward), it is pure austerity in the truest sense.
Two qualities elevate discipline to sattva: deep faith and the absence of self-interest. Faith infuses the practice with meaning and devotion, while desirelessness keeps it free of ego and bargaining. This echoes the Gita's central theme of nishkama karma — action without attachment to fruit. Tapas at its highest is not a grim endurance test but a steady, faith-filled offering. The same discipline can be sattvic or fall lower; what decides its quality is the faith and freedom from craving in the heart of the one who practises it.
💡 Key Takeaway
Discipline practised with deep faith and no craving for reward is the purest kind — let devotion, not ambition, drive your effort.
Related Verses
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||
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?
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.