Worship without humility becomes performance.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
आत्मसम्भाविताः स्तब्धा धनमानमदान्विताः |यजन्ते नामयज्ञैस्ते दम्भेनाविधिपूर्वकम् ||१६-१७||
ātmasambhāvitāḥ stabdhā dhanamānamadānvitāḥ . yajante nāmayajñaiste dambhenāvidhipūrvakam ||16-17||
Use this verse to purify public spirituality.
Meaning
Self-conceited, stubborn, filled with pride of wealth and honor, they perform sacrifices in name only, with hypocrisy and without proper discipline.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Ego can turn worship into performance.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
Krishna warns against performative spirituality. When wealth, status, and stubborn pride dominate, even worship becomes branding, not surrender.
Read the traditional commentary
Krishna returns to the theme of corrupted worship. Atma-sambhavita (self-esteeming) and stabdha (stubborn, rigid), intoxicated by dhana-mana — the pride of wealth — such people do perform yajnas, but only nama-yajnaih, sacrifices in name alone. The outer form is preserved while the inner spirit is hollow.
The key words are dambha (ostentation) and avidhi-purvakam (without regard for the prescribed way). Worship has become theatre, a means to display status rather than to surrender the ego. Krishna's critique is pointed and timeless: religious activity itself offers no protection when it serves vanity.
A sacrifice meant to dissolve the 'I' is being used to inflate it. The teaching gently turns the mirror on every sincere seeker — to ask not merely whether we perform our practices, but whether we perform them to be seen, or to be transformed.
In daily life
Make spiritual practice sincere, not image-driven.
A person may post every prayer online but rarely pray privately with humility.
Try this today
Do one private devotional practice today.
My worship is sincere, humble, and disciplined.Reflect
Is my devotion sincere or performative?
Private — only you can see this
Quick check
What does ‘अविधिपूर्वकम्’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on hypocrisy, in other chapters
- Verse 17.5Intense self-denial driven by ego and desire is not spirituality — discipline must be guided by humility and wisdom to purify rather than inflate.
- Verse 9.12When striving is rooted in ego and cut off from a deeper purpose, even our cleverest efforts tend to come to nothing.
- Verse 3.6Controlling outward behaviour while secretly indulging in the mind is self-deception, not discipline — real change starts within.
- Verse 2.2Recognize when what feels like compassion is actually ego-driven weakness, and choose clarity over comfortable inaction.
Swipe left for 16.18 · Ego blinds us to the Divine in all.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 16.17
Who says Bhagavad Gita 16.17, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 16.17, in Chapter 16, Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga Yoga (Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 16.17 mean?
Self-conceited, stubborn, filled with pride of wealth and honor, they perform sacrifices in name only, with hypocrisy and without proper discipline. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 16.17 for daily life?
Make spiritual practice sincere, not image-driven. A person may post every prayer online but rarely pray privately with humility.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 16.17 mean?
आत्मसम्भाविताः — self-conceited, esteeming themselves; स्तब्धाः — stubborn, unbending; धनमानमदान्विताः — filled with the pride and intoxication of wealth; यजन्ते — they perform sacrifices; नामयज्ञैः — with sacrifices in name only.
Where does verse 16.17 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 17 of 24 in Chapter 16, Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga Yoga. The next verse is 16.18.