अफलाकाङ्क्षिभिर् यज्ञो विधिदिष्टो य इज्यते । यष्टव्यम् एवेति मनः समाधाय स सात्त्विकः ॥
aphalākāṅkṣibhir yajño vidhi-diṣṭo ya ijyate | yaṣṭavyam eveti manaḥ samādhāya sa sāttvikaḥ ||
Sāttvic yajña: performed as ordained, without fruit-desire, with the conviction 'this must be done.'
Word by word (3)
- aphalākāṅkṣibhiḥ yajño vidhi-diṣṭaḥ yaḥ ijyate
- — the sacrifice (yajño) that is performed (ijyate) as prescribed by ordinance (vidhi-diṣṭaḥ) by those not desiring fruit (aphalākāṅkṣibhiḥ = a+phala+āṅkṣin = non-fruit-seekers)
- yaṣṭavyam eva iti manaḥ samādhāya
- — with the mind (manaḥ) resolved/determined (samādhāya) in this conviction: 'this MUST be performed' (yaṣṭavyam eva iti) — not 'may be done' but duty-imperative
- sa sāttvikaḥ
- — that (sa) is sāttvic (sāttvikaḥ) — the definition: right performance + right motivation (no fruit-desire) + right basis (śāstric ordinance)
That sacrifice which is performed as ordained by scripture, by those who desire no fruit from it, with the mind resolving 'this is a duty to be performed' — that is sāttvic.
A modern analogy
Sāttvic sacrifice is like a doctor who practices medicine because it is the right thing to do — not to gain fame or money, following established medical protocol rather than personal whim. The resolve is 'this must be done' not 'I will gain from this.' It is discipline with clarity.
V11-13 give the three-fold yajña parallel to V8-10's three-fold food. V11 is the ideal: three conditions must be met simultaneously — (1) prescribed by ordinance (vidhi-diṣṭa), (2) performed without fruit-desire (aphalākāṅkṣin), (3) with proper mental resolve (manaḥ samādhāya). This is Ch.3's karmaṇy evādhikāras te (V47) applied specifically to yajña: do the duty, renounce the fruit.
The phrase yaṣṭavyam eva (this MUST be offered) is the śāstric imperative — nitya-karma, the obligatory rite that must be done regardless of outcome. This distinguishes sāttvic yajña from both rājasic (done for reward) and tāmasic (done improperly). The aphalākāṅkṣin is not passive — their manaḥ is fully samāhita (resolved) in the duty itself. This is śraddhā without attachment: a powerful combination.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
MISSING from index. Ganguli and Telang used as primary. [1]
MISSING from index. Ganguli and Telang used as primary. [4]
That sacrifice is good which, being prescribed in (scripture) ordinances, is performed by persons not wishing for the fruit (of it), and after determining (in their) mind that the sacrifice must needs be performed. [9]
That sacrifice is good which, being prescribed by the ordinance, is performed by persons, without any longing for the fruit (thereof) and the mind being determined (to it under the belief) that its performance is a duty. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Sannyāsa = abandoning desire-motivated action; tyāga = abandoning fruits of ALL action — say the learned.
Sāttvic tyāga: niyata karma done ONLY because 'this must be done,' having abandoned attachment and fruit.
Sāttvic tapas: the three-fold tapas practiced with supreme śraddhā, without fruit-desire, by the disciplined.
Uttering 'Tat,' without fruit-desire, mokṣa-seekers perform yajña, tapas, and various acts of dāna.
The unattached-minded, self-conquered, desire-free one attains supreme naiskarmya-siddhi through sannyāsa.
Some say all karma is faulty and should be abandoned; others say yajña-dāna-tapas must not be abandoned.