Bhagavad Gita 16.17
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 17 of 24
आत्मसम्भाविताः स्तब्धा धनमानमदान्विताः । यजन्ते नामयज्ञैस् ते दम्भेनाविधिपूर्वकम् ॥
ātma-sambhāvitāḥ stabdhā dhana-māna-madānvitāḥ | yajante nāma-yajñais te dambhenāvidhi-pūrvakam ||
Self-complacent, stubborn, wealth-proud — they perform name-only sacrifices, ostentatiously ignoring śāstric ordinance.
Word by word (3)
- ātma-sambhāvitāḥ stabdhāḥ
- — self-complacent/self-honoring (ātma-sambhāvitāḥ), stubborn/arrogant (stabdhāḥ) — the two inner postures of ego-saturation
- dhana-māna-madānvitāḥ
- — filled with (anvitāḥ) the pride (māna) and intoxication (mada) of wealth (dhana) — wealth becomes the fuel for ego-amplification
- yajante nāma-yajñais te dambhenāvidhi-pūrvakam
- — they perform sacrifices (yajante) with sacrifices in name only (nāma-yajñaiḥ), with ostentation/hypocrisy (dambhena), against scriptural ordinance (avidhi-pūrvakam)
Self-complacent, stubborn, full of the pride and intoxication of wealth, they perform what are sacrifices in name only — ostentatiously, against prescribed ordinance.
A modern analogy
A chef who doesn't taste the food while cooking, ignores the recipe, and only cares how the dish LOOKS on the plate — produces technically elaborate but actually inedible results. The āsurī's yajña looks like sacrifice but has no inner alignment (no śraddhā, no vidhi) — it is cuisine for social approval, not nourishment.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
Self-honored, stubborn, filled with the pride and intoxication of wealth, they perform sacrifices in name with hypocrisy, without regard to ordinance. [1]
Self-conceited, haughty, filled with the pride and intoxication of wealth, they perform sacrifices in name, out of ostentation, disregarding ordinance; [4]
Honoured only by themselves, void of humility, and full of the pride and frenzy of wealth, these calumniators perform sacrifices which are sacrifices only in name, with ostentatiousness and against prescribed rules. [9]
Self-complacent, stubborn, filled with the pride and intoxication of wealth, they perform sacrifices that are nominally so, with hypocrisy and against the prescribed ordinance. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
From all wombs all bodies arise — but the great Brahman is the womb and Krishna the seed-giving Father.
The ego-apex: 'I am rich, well-born — who equals me? I'll sacrifice, give, rejoice.' — all deluded by ajñāna.
Arjuna asks: what does the truly wise person look like? How do they speak, sit, and move?
Those who know Me as Adhibhūta, Adhidaiva, and Adhiyajña — they know Me even at death, with unified minds.
Even if the soul were not eternal — even then, grief is not the answer.
Those who eat yajna's remnants reach eternal Brahman. Without offering, not even this world is theirs.
Verse 17 of 24 · back to Chapter 16