🪷 Bhagavad-Gītā · 17.13
Chapter 17 · श्रद्धात्रयविभागयोग · Śraddhā-Traya-Vibhāga-Yoga · "The Yoga of the Three Types of Faith" · Verse 13 of 28
🪷 English Translations
Five authentic English voices · each from a distinct sampradāya · together revealing the verse's full śabda-tattva.
Shri Purohit Swami · Poetic English · 1935 · public domain · Cosmo Press tradition
17.13 Sacrifice that is contrary to scriptural command, that is unaccompanied by prayers or gifts of food or money, and is without faith - that is the product of Ignorance.
Swami Sivananda · Direct prose · Divine Life Society
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.
Swami Gambīrānanda · Word-key glosses · Advaita Ashrama · Śaṅkara-school
17.13 Paricaksate, they delclare; that yajnam, sacrifice; as tamasam, done through tamas; which is vidhi-hinam, contrary to injunction, opposed to what is enjoined; asrstannam, in which food is not distributed-a sacrifice in which food (annam) is not distributed (asrstam) to Brahmanas; mantra-hinam, in which mantras are not used, which is bereft of mantras, intonation and distinct pronunciation; adaksinam, in which offerings are not made to priests as prescribed; and which is sraddha-virahitam, devoid of faith.
After that, now is being stated the three kinds of austerity:
Swami Ādidevānanda · Śrī-Vaiṣṇava perspective · Rāmānuja school
17.13 They say that sacrifice is Tamasa, which is bereft of the authority of injunction of Brahmanas of learning and good conduct as 'Do this sacrifice,' which is 'Asrstanna' viz., which uses offerings (materials) not sanctioned by the Sastras; which is performed without recitation of hymns; and which is bereft of gifts and faith.
Now, to explain the threefold division of austerities according to their source in the Gunas, Sri Krsna describes their differences in respect of the body, speech and mind:
Dr. S. Sankaranarayan · Academic precision · modern scholarly
17.13. That sacrifice they declare to be of the Tamas (Strand) which is devoid of scriptural injunction, in which there is no [recitation of] Vedic hymns, where no food and [sacrifical] fee are distributed, and which is totally devoid of faith.
🪷 English Commentaries · The Ācārya Voices
The classical commentary tradition rendered in English · each ācārya speaks from their own sampradāya · the seer chooses the depth of darśana.
Swami Sivananda · Verse-by-verse word-keys with Sanskrit anchors
17.13 विधिहीनम् without keeping to ordinance? असृष्टान्नम् in which no food is distributed? मन्त्रहीनम् which is devoid of Mantras? अदक्षिणम् which is devoid of gifts? श्रद्धाविरहितम् which is devoid of faith? यज्ञम् sacrifice? तामसम् Tamasic? परिचक्षते (they) declare.Commentary A sacrifice performed by a Tamasic man is never guided by any consideration for the prescribed rites or incantation. You will find every irregularity in this sacrifice. No food is distributed. No fees which are prescribed in the scriptures are given to the priests. The Mantras are not changed properly. The hymns recited are defective in utterance and accent. Sometimes there is no recitation at all. There is no faith. A man who performs such a sacrifice does not get any merit.
Swami Gambīrānanda · Advaita-school commentary (Śaṅkara tradition)
17.13 Paricaksate, they delclare; that yajnam, sacrifice; as tamasam, done through tamas; which is vidhi-hinam, contrary to injunction, opposed to what is enjoined; asrstannam, in which food is not distributed-a sacrifice in which food (annam) is not distributed (asrstam) to Brahmanas; mantra-hinam, in which mantras are not used, which is bereft of mantras, intonation and distinct pronunciation; adaksinam, in which offerings are not made to priests as prescribed; and which is sraddha-virahitam, devoid of faith.
After that, now is being stated the three kinds of austerity:
Swami Ādidevānanda · Rāmānuja Śrī-Vaiṣṇava commentary
17.13 They say that sacrifice is Tamasa, which is bereft of the authority of injunction of Brahmanas of learning and good conduct as 'Do this sacrifice,' which is 'Asrstanna' viz., which uses offerings (materials) not sanctioned by the Sastras; which is performed without recitation of hymns; and which is bereft of gifts and faith.
Now, to explain the threefold division of austerities according to their source in the Gunas, Sri Krsna describes their differences in respect of the body, speech and mind:
Dr. S. Sankaranarayan · Modern academic scholarship
17.11-13 Aphala-etc. upto paricaksate. Stabilizing mind : by firmly believing. Also for the sake of display etc. Display : an intention 'Let the world take me to be of this natrue'. That which is devoid of scriptural injunction : that which is devoid of rituals prescribed in the scriptures. The same [feature] is elaborated by the attributives 'That in which no food is distributed' etc.
Swami Chinmayānanda · Chinmaya Mission · modern Vedantic teaching
।।17.13।। इस श्लोक में कथित प्रकार से किया हुआ यज्ञ न यज्ञकर्ता के लिए सुखवर्धक सिद्ध होता है और न समाज के अन्य लोगों के लिए लाभदायक।अन्नदान रहित धर्मशास्त्र की भाषा में? हमारे जीवन की मूलभूत आवश्यकताओं को अन्न शब्द के द्वारा सूचित किया जाता है। आधुनिक काल की भाषा में भोजनवस्त्रऔर गृह के द्वारा उन्हें इंगित किया जाता है। मनुष्य का कर्तव्य है कि वह अपने पास उपलब्ध वस्तुओं का दान उन लोगों को दें? जिन्हें उनकी आवश्यकता होती है। ऐसा दान प्रेम के बिना कभी संभव ही नहीं हो सकता। तमोगुणी पुरुष यज्ञ कर्म के अनुष्ठान में भी शास्त्रोक्त दान नहीं करता है।कर्मकाण्ड के अनुष्ठान में मन्त्रों का उच्चारण तथा शिक्षित पुरोहितों को दक्षिणा देना आवश्यक होता है? परन्तु तमोगुणी पुरुष इन सब नियमों की ओर ध्यान ही नहीं देता है। अत उसके द्वारा अनुष्ठित यज्ञ तामस कहलाता है।अगले तीन श्लोकों में तप के वास्तविक स्वरूप को दर्शाकर? तत्पश्चात् गुण भेद से त्रिविध तपों का वर्णन किया गया है
🪷 Place in the Bhagavad-Gītā
- This is verse 13 of 28 in Chapter 17 · Śraddhā-Traya-Vibhāga-Yoga (The Yoga of the Three Types of Faith)
- Chapter theme: Three types of śraddhā · food · yajña · tapas · dāna · BG 17.23 Oṁ Tat Sat
- Ṣaṭka grouping: ANTYA-Ṣaṭka (BG 13-18 · the resolution)
- Chapter hub: /shraddha-traya
🪷 ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय 🪷
सर्वम् कृष्णार्पणम् — this verse is one maṇi (jewel) on Krishna's thread (BG 7.7)