Verse 17.12

अभिसन्धाय तु फलं दम्भार्थमपि चैव यत् ।

इज्यते भरतश्रेष्ठ तं यज्ञं विद्धि राजसम् ॥

17.12

Transliteration

abhisandhāya tu phalaṃ dambhārthamapi caiva yat |

ijyate bharataśreṣṭha taṃ yajñaṃ viddhi rājasam ||

By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · @indic-transliteration/sanscript 1.3.3

Translation

The sacrifice which is offered, O Arjuna, seeking a reward and for ostentation, know thou that to be a Rajasic Yajna.

From the owner's sheet · +1 more

Word by word

aiming at
but
fruit
for show
also
and
indeed
which

is offered
O best of the Bharatas
that
sacrifice
know
as rajasic

By Sanskrit System · Machine draft · claude-opus-5-5 · 2026-11-08

Explanation

Sacrifice is rajasic when it is performed with an eye on the reward, or for the sake of show. Krishna addresses Arjuna as best of the Bharatas, as if reminding him to aim higher. The outward ritual may be the same as sattvic sacrifice, but the motive changes its quality. The verse recalls the earlier criticism of those who perform sacrifices for self-display, and it teaches that intention matters as much as correct form.