Chapter 17, Verse 22
अदेशकाले यद्दानमपात्रेभ्यश्च दीयते | असत्कृतमवज्ञातं तत्तामसमुदाहृतम् ||१७-२२||
adeśakāle yaddānamapātrebhyaśca dīyate . asatkṛtamavajñātaṃ tattāmasamudāhṛtam ||17-22||
Meaning
17.22 The gift that is given at a wrong place and time, to unworthy persons, without respect or with insult is declared to be Tamasic.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Tamasic charity completes the trio. It is given adesha-kale — at an unfit place and time — to apatrebhyah, unworthy or inappropriate recipients, and worst of all asatkritam and avajnatam: without courtesy, even with contempt or insult to the one receiving. The act is careless, thoughtless, and demeaning, lacking both wisdom and warmth.
Krishna reveals that how we give matters as much as whether we give. A gift handed over with disdain wounds rather than uplifts; charity stripped of respect for the recipient's dignity carries the heaviness of tamas. There is no discernment about timing, place, or fitness, and no compassion in the manner of giving. The deeper lesson is that genuine generosity honours the receiver. To give while humiliating someone is not charity at all, but a darker thing dressed in its clothes.
💡 Key Takeaway
How you give matters as much as that you give — charity offered with contempt or carelessness wounds rather than uplifts.
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.
यातयामं गतरसं पूति पर्युषितं च यत् | उच्छिष्टमपि चामेध्यं भोजनं तामसप्रियम् ||१७-१०||
yātayāmaṃ gatarasaṃ pūti paryuṣitaṃ ca yat . ucchiṣṭamapi cāmedhyaṃ bhojanaṃ tāmasapriyam ||17-10||
17.10 That which is state, tasteless, putrid, rotten, refuse and impure, is the food liked by the Tamasic.
विधिहीनमसृष्टान्नं मन्त्रहीनमदक्षिणम् | श्रद्धाविरहितं यज्ञं तामसं परिचक्षते ||१७-१३||
vidhihīnamasṛṣṭānnaṃ mantrahīnamadakṣiṇam . śraddhāvirahitaṃ yajñaṃ tāmasaṃ paricakṣate ||17-13||
17.13 They declare that sacrifice to be Tamasic which is contrary to the ordinances of the scriptures, in which no food is distributed, which is devoid of Mantras, gifts and faith.