द्रव्ययज्ञास्तपोयज्ञा योगयज्ञास्तथापरे । स्वाध्यायज्ञानयज्ञाश्च यतयः संशितव्रताः ॥
dravya-yajñās tapo-yajñā yoga-yajñās tathāpare | svādhyāya-jñāna-yajñāś ca yatayaḥ saṃśita-vratāḥ ||
Wealth, austerity, yoga, self-study, knowledge — all valid yajna for ascetics with sharpened vows.
Word by word (3)
- dravya-yajñāḥ tapo-yajñāḥ yoga-yajñāḥ
- — material-sacrificers, austerity-sacrificers, yoga-sacrificers · Dravya-yajña = sacrifice of material things (dravya = substance, wealth, material). The yajna of giving — offering wealth, food, resources. Tapo-yajña = sacrifice of austerity (tapas = heat-generating discipline; austerity; literally 'to heat' — the fire is generated internally through tapas). Yoga-yajña = sacrifice of yoga practice — the eight-limbed path, meditation, prāṇāyāma as the offering.
- svādhyāya-jñāna-yajñāḥ ca yatayaḥ saṃśita-vratāḥ
- — those who sacrifice through self-study and knowledge — ascetics with sharpened vows · Svādhyāya = self-study, Vedic recitation, study of scripture (sva = self/own + adhyāya = reading/study — reading one's own texts, the daily self-study discipline). Jñāna-yajña = sacrifice of knowledge — the offering of the ego into the understanding of Brahman. Yatayaḥ = ascetics, those who strive (from yat = to strive). Saṃśita-vrata = those with sharpened vows (saṃśita = sharpened; vrata = vow, discipline).
- yatayaḥ saṃśita-vratāḥ
- — yatayaḥ = ascetics/strivers (from yat = to strive/exert; yati = one who strives, an ascetic; those who make sustained effort toward liberation); saṃśita-vratāḥ = of sharpened vows (saṃśita = whetted/sharpened from śi = to sharpen; vrata = vow/discipline; saṃśita-vrata = one whose vow is razor-sharpened — not vague resolution but a vow honed to precision); the phrase identifies the practitioners of these higher yajnas: they are strivers (yatayaḥ) with a cutting-edge commitment (saṃśita-vrata)
Some offer wealth as sacrifice, some offer austerity, some offer yoga practice. Other ascetics with sharpened vows offer self-study and the sacrifice of knowledge.
A modern analogy
A philanthropist gives money. A monk endures physical austerity. A yogi maintains daily practice. A scholar studies deeply. A philosopher investigates reality. V28 recognizes them all — material engagement, physical discipline, contemplative practice, intellectual inquiry — as different fires in which the same offering is made.
Take with you
- Dravya-yajña: your material resources offered as service — the first and most accessible form.
- Tapo-yajña: austerity as offering — the body's comfort sacrificed for inner development.
- Svādhyāya-jñāna-yajña: daily scripture study and the investigation of reality as sacred practice.
- Saṃśita-vrata (sharpened vows): the quality of commitment — the vow becomes keen like a blade through sustained practice.
V28 gives the sixth variety in the taxonomy — a combined set: dravya, tapas, yoga, svādhyāya, jñāna. These represent the full spectrum from external (material wealth) through internal (jñāna). Shankaracharya notes the progression: dravya-yajña is the most accessible (giving from what you have); tapo-yajña moves inward (the body as the resource offered); yoga-yajña moves deeper (the practice itself offered); svādhyāya-jñāna-yajña is the most interior (the mind and its understanding as the offering). The qualifier saṃśita-vrata (sharpened vow) applies especially to the last group — jñāna-yajña requires the precision of a honed blade: the investigation of reality cannot be vague. V28 completes the survey that V25-28 has conducted. V29 will extend into the prāṇāyāma domain.
Public-domain translations (5) compare all →
Others again perform sacrifice of wealth, sacrifice of austerity, sacrifice of yoga; and others — men of self-control, of rigid vows — sacrifice of study and of knowledge. [1]
Others perform sacrifice of wealth, of austerity, of yoga; others — men of self-restraint, strict in vows — perform sacrifice of self-study and of knowledge. [4]
Others sacrifice substance, or austerity, or the yoga of the soul; others, of firm vows, sacrifice knowledge and self-study. [6]
Some give substance as sacrifice; some practice austerity; Some offer yoga; and some offer knowledge; All are sages, strict in vow. [7]
Others perform sacrifice with wealth, or with austerity, or with yoga; and other ascetics of sharp vows perform sacrifice with self-study and knowledge. [9]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Knowledge-yajna surpasses all material sacrifice. Every action without exception culminates in knowledge.
Bodily tapas: honouring Devas/dvija/guru/wise; purity, straightforwardness, brahmacarya, non-injury.
Some offer to the gods as yajna. Others offer yajna itself into the fire of Brahman — the practice becomes the offering.
All sense-actions, all vital-breath actions — offered into the fire of self-mastery yoga, kindled by knowledge.
The ego-apex: 'I am rich, well-born — who equals me? I'll sacrifice, give, rejoice.' — all deluded by ajñāna.
Tāmasic yajña: against ordinance, no food-sharing, no mantras, no dakṣiṇā, no śraddhā — declared tāmasic.