अभिसन्धाय तु फलं दम्भार्थम् अपि चैव यत् । इज्यते भरतश्रेष्ठ तं यज्ञं विद्धि राजसम् ॥
abhisandhāya tu phalaṃ dambhārtham api caiva yat | ijyate bharata-śreṣṭha taṃ yajñaṃ viddhi rājasam ||
Rājasic yajña: performed targeting fruit and for ostentation — know this, O best of Bharatas.
Word by word (3)
- abhisandhāya tu phalam
- — but having targeted/aimed at (abhisandhāya) a fruit/result (phalam) — the opposite of V11's aphalākāṅkṣin; the mind locked onto reward before performing
- dambhārtham api caiva yat ijyate
- — and even performed for the sake of (artham) ostentation/show (dambha — here as noun) — the motivation is display, not duty
- taṃ yajñam viddhi rājasam
- — know (viddhi) that (tam) sacrifice (yajñam) to be rājasic (rājasam) — the double corruption: fruit-seeking (phala) + showmanship (dambha)
But that sacrifice which is performed with an eye on the fruit and also for the sake of show/ostentation — know that, O best of the Bharatas, to be rājasic.
A modern analogy
Rājasic sacrifice is like donating to charity only when the cameras are present — or when it provides a tax benefit. The external act may look identical to genuine giving, but the internal motivation is reward (phala) and reputation (dambha). The act is there; the purity is absent.
V12 describes the rājasic debasement of yajña through double motivation: desire for fruit (phala) AND desire for recognition (dambha). Both corrupt independently; together they fully invert the sāttvic ideal of V11. Note that dambha (ostentation) was specifically listed as one of the āsurī qualities in Ch.16 V4 — V12 shows that even a formal religious act can carry āsurī motivation when dambha is present.
The word abhisandhāya (having targeted) is precise: it means the mind pre-locks onto the outcome before acting. In Advaita analysis, this is the saṅkalpa (intention-seed) that binds karma. When the saṅkalpa is 'I will gain X from this yajña', the entire action is phala-driven — and creates corresponding karma, binding the doer. V11's sāttvic yajña has a different saṅkalpa: 'yaṣṭavyam eva' — the duty itself is the target.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
That which is offered, O best of the Bharatas, with a view to reward and for ostentation, know it to be a Rajasic worship. [1]
That which is performed, O best of the Bharatas, seeking for fruit and for ostentation, know it to be a Rajasika Yajna. [4]
But when a sacrifice is performed, O highest of the descendants of Bharata! with an expectation of fruit (from it), and for the purpose of ostentation, know that sacrifice (to be) passionate. [9]
But that which is performed in expectation of fruit and even for the sake of ostentation, know that sacrifice, O chief of the sons of Bharata, to be of the quality of passion. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Rājasic tapas: done for reception, honour, worship, and show — unstable and transient.
Free from pride, moha, attachment and desire, the dvandva-unbound, undeluded ones reach the imperishable goal.
Tāmasic kartā: undisciplined, vulgar, obstinate, deceitful, malicious, lazy, desponding, procrastinating.
Self-complacent, stubborn, wealth-proud — they perform name-only sacrifices, ostentatiously ignoring śāstric ordinance.
Rājasic food: bitter, sour, salty, hot, pungent, dry, burning — loved by the rājasic; yields pain, grief, disease.
Rājasic dāna: given expecting reciprocity, or eyeing fruit, or reluctantly — held to be rājasic.