Verse 17.11
अफलाकाङ्क्षिभिर्यज्ञो विधिदृष्टो य इज्यते ।
यष्टव्यमेवेति मनः समाधाय स सात्त्विकः ॥
Transliteration
aphalākāṅkṣibhiryajño vidhidṛṣṭo ya ijyate |
yaṣṭavyameveti manaḥ samādhāya sa sāttvikaḥ ||
By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · @indic-transliteration/sanscript 1.3.3
Translation
That sacrifice which is offered by men without desire for reward as enjoined by the ordinance (scripture), with a firm faith that to do so is a duty, is Sattvic or pure.
From the owner's sheet · +1 more
Sacrifice offered according to the rule by those who seek no reward, with the mind settled on the thought that it simply ought to be done, is sattvic.
By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08 · +1 more
Word by word
By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08
Explanation
Sacrifice (yajña) is sattvic when it is performed according to proper rule by those who do not seek reward, with the mind fixed on the thought that it is simply right to do. This echoes the Gita's central teaching on action without attachment to results. The phrase it ought to be done captures the attitude of duty for its own sake. Sattvic sacrifice is not a bargain with the gods but an act of offering that needs no further justification.
By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08