Bhagavad Gita 17.21
Spoken by Krishna · Verse 21 of 28
यत् तु प्रत्युपकारार्थं फलम् उद्दिश्य वा पुनः । दीयते च परिक्लिष्टं तद् दानं राजसं स्मृतम् ॥
yat tu pratyupakārārthaṃ phalam uddiśya vā punaḥ | dīyate ca parikliṣṭaṃ tad dānaṃ rājasaṃ smṛtam ||
Rājasic dāna: given expecting reciprocity, or eyeing fruit, or reluctantly — held to be rājasic.
Word by word (3)
- yat tu pratyupakārārthaṃ phalam uddiśya vā punaḥ
- — but (tu) what (yat) is given for the sake of counter-service (pratyupakāra-artham = for the purpose of getting back service), or (vā) looking at/toward the fruit (phalam uddiśya = directing [attention] toward reward)
- dīyate ca parikliṣṭam
- — and is given (dīyate) reluctantly/with difficulty (parikliṣṭam = pained, troubled, unwilling) — three motivations: reciprocity-seeking, fruit-seeking, and reluctant giving
- tad dānaṃ rājasaṃ smṛtam
- — that gift (tad dānam) is held/remembered as (smṛtam) rājasic (rājasam) — three motivational corruptions: quid-pro-quo, fruit-seeking, and reluctance
But that which is given with a view to getting something back, or looking toward a fruit/reward, or given reluctantly — that gift is considered rājasic.
A modern analogy
Rājasic giving is transactional charity — the donor who gives to the food bank expecting community recognition, the colleague who helps expecting a future favor, or the person who gives to a cause only when they feel they must (parikliṣṭa = reluctantly). The external act looks identical to the sāttvic gift — the gift given at the right place and time, to the right recipient, with the conviction 'this must be given' and expecting nothing in return — but the inner motivation here is calculation.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
And that gift which is given with a view to a return of the good, or looking for the fruit, or reluctantly, that gift is held to be Rajasic. [1]
And what is given with a view to receiving in return, or looking for the fruit, or again reluctantly, that gift is held to be Rajasika. [4]
But what is given for the sake of a return, or again with a view to (its) fruit, or reluctantly, that gift is pronounced to be passionate. [9]
But that gift which is made for the sake of a counter-gift or looking to its fruit, and which is given reluctantly, is regarded as of the quality of passion. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
The guṇātīta neither hates light, activity, or delusion when present — nor yearns for them when absent.
I am Time, the world-destroyer — even without you, none of these warriors shall survive; they are already slain!
Enjoy the gifts of existence without giving back — the Gita calls that theft. Participate, don't just consume.
Tamas — born of ignorance — deludes all beings and binds through carelessness, laziness, and sleep.
Dying in rajas, one is born among the action-attached; dying in tamas, one is born in irrational wombs.
The fruit of sattvic action is pure; the fruit of rajas is pain; the fruit of tamas is ignorance.
Verse 21 of 28 · back to Chapter 17