Chapter 17, Verse 27
यज्ञे तपसि दाने च स्थितिः सदिति चोच्यते | कर्म चैव तदर्थीयं सदित्येवाभिधीयते ||१७-२७||
yajñe tapasi dāne ca sthitiḥ saditi cocyate . karma caiva tadarthīyaṃ sadityevābhidhīyate ||17-27||
Meaning
17.27 Steadfastness in sacrifice, austerity and gift, is also called 'Sat' and also action in connection with these (or for the sake of the Supreme) is called 'Sat'.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna extends the meaning of Sat still further. Steadfastness (sthiti) in the three great practices — sacrifice, austerity, and giving — is itself called Sat. And any action performed tad-arthiyam, for the sake of That Supreme, is likewise designated Sat. Thus both the constancy of the practitioner and the orientation of the act toward the Divine make a deed 'real' and 'good' in the highest sense.
The teaching honours perseverance and right intention together. It is not enough to act well once; sustained, steady commitment to sacrifice, discipline, and generosity is itself a form of the sacred. Likewise, when work is dedicated to the Absolute rather than to the ego, it is elevated and consecrated. In a few words Krishna gathers the chapter's threads: faith, discipline, and selfless dedication, persistently lived and offered to the Supreme, become participation in Sat — in Being and Goodness itself.
💡 Key Takeaway
Steadfast devotion to good practices, and acting for the sake of the Divine, makes your work participate in truth and goodness itself.
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.
अफलाङ्क्षिभिर्यज्ञो विधिदृष्टो य इज्यते | यष्टव्यमेवेति मनः समाधाय स सात्त्विकः ||१७-११||
aphalāṅkṣibhiryajño vidhidṛṣṭo ya ijyate . yaṣṭavyameveti manaḥ samādhāya sa sāttvikaḥ ||17-11||
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.
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.