Chapter 17, Verse 18
सत्कारमानपूजार्थं तपो दम्भेन चैव यत् | क्रियते तदिह प्रोक्तं राजसं चलमध्रुवम् ||१७-१८||
satkāramānapūjārthaṃ tapo dambhena caiva yat . kriyate tadiha proktaṃ rājasaṃ calamadhruvam ||17-18||
Meaning
17.18 The austerity which is practised with the object of gaining good reception, honour and worship, and with hypocrisy, is here said to be Rajasic, unstable and transitory.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Rajasic austerity is done satkara-mana-puja-artham — to win respect, honour, and admiration — and dambhena, with pretension. It is discipline turned into a performance for an audience, a means to manufacture a holy reputation. Krishna adds a telling judgement: such tapas is chalam adhruvam, unstable and impermanent. Because it depends on external recognition, it cannot last; when the applause fades, the practice collapses.
This is a piercing observation about the ego's hunger for approval. When our spiritual effort is secretly aimed at being seen as spiritual, it loses its anchor and becomes brittle. The reward such austerity seeks is fleeting public esteem, so its results are equally fleeting. Krishna invites honest self-examination: do we practise to grow, or to be admired? Only effort that does not depend on others' praise can be steady and deep.
💡 Key Takeaway
Discipline performed to win admiration is brittle and short-lived — practise for inner growth, not for the applause of others.
Related Verses
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.
कट्वम्ललवणात्युष्णतीक्ष्णरूक्षविदाहिनः | आहारा राजसस्येष्टा दुःखशोकामयप्रदाः ||१७-९||
kaṭvamlalavaṇātyuṣṇatīkṣṇarūkṣavidāhinaḥ . āhārā rājasasyeṣṭā duḥkhaśokāmayapradāḥ ||17-9||
17.9 The foods that are bitter, sour, saline, excessively hot, pungent, dry and burning, are liked by the Rajasic and are productive of pain, grief and disease.