PART 17
Chapter - 17: Shraddhātraya-Vibhāga Yoga
This chapter of 28 verses deals with the spiritual as well as the temporal aptitudes of man. It may be noted that, v11-v13 that deal with the virtuous, the passionate and the deluded in ritualistic sense, and v23 -v28 concerning Om, Tat, Sat and Asat, of the Vedic hymns are clear interpolations for reasons the readers are familiar with. However, v7 - v10 that deal with the food habits of the virtuous, the passionate, and the deluded would pose a problem in determining whether or not they are interpolations. Can eating habits be linked to the innate nature of man in an infallible manner? Perhaps, some future research and analysis might resolve the universality or otherwise of this averment, and till then, it is appropriate to reserve the judgment on these.
Now to the text as Arjuna asks,
Ch17, V1
None the regard for scriptures
Who tend to manage life their well
What Thou say of such of beings
Virtuous, passionate or merely deluded.
arjuna uvācha
ye śhāstra-vidhim utsṛijya yajante śhraddhayānvitāḥ
teṣhāṁ niṣhṭhā tu kā kṛiṣhṇa sattvam āho rajas tamaḥ
and Krishna begins to clarify
Ch17, V2
It’s one’s nature that tends him
To be virtuous, passionate, or deluded
śhrī-bhagavān uvācha
tri-vidhā bhavati śhraddhā dehināṁ sā svabhāva-jā
sāttvikī rājasī chaiva tāmasī cheti tāṁ śhṛiṇu
Then, after Krishna plays his part as a dietician in v7 - v10, come these ‘sacrificial’ ten.
V11
aphalākāṅkṣhibhir yajño vidhi-driṣhṭo ya ijyate
yaṣhṭavyam eveti manaḥ samādhāya sa sāttvikaḥ
Sacrifice that is performed according to the scriptural injunctions without expectation of rewards, with the firm conviction of the mind that it is a matter of duty is of the nature of goodness.
V12
abhisandhāya tu phalaṁ dambhārtham api chaiva yat
ijyate bharata-śhreṣhṭha taṁ yajñaṁ viddhi rājasam
O best of the Bharatas, know that sacrifice, which is performed for material benefit, or with hypocritical aim, to be in the mode of passion.
V13
vidhi-hīnam asṛiṣhṭānnaṁ mantra-hīnam adakṣhiṇam
śhraddhā-virahitaṁ yajñaṁ tāmasaṁ parichakṣhate
Sacrifice devoid of faith and contrary to the injunctions of the scriptures, in which no food is offered, no mantras chanted, and no donation made, is to be considered in the mode of ignorance.
V14
deva-dwija-guru-prājña- pūjanaṁ śhaucham ārjavam
brahmacharyam ahinsā cha śhārīraṁ tapa uchyate
Worship of the deities, the twice born, teachers and the learned, purity, straightforwardness, chastity and non violence, these are called penance of the body.
V23
oṁ tat sad iti nirdeśho brahmaṇas tri-vidhaḥ smṛitaḥ
brāhmaṇās tena vedāśh cha yajñāśh cha vihitāḥ purā
Om, Tat, Sat, this has been declared as the triple indicator of the eternal essence. By that were created the braahmanaas, the Vedas and the sacrifices, long ago.
V24
tasmād oṁ ity udāhṛitya yajña-dāna-tapaḥ-kriyāḥ
pravartante vidhānoktāḥ satataṁ brahma-vādinām
Therefore, when performing acts of sacrifice, offering charity, or undertaking penance, expounders of the Vedas always begin by uttering “Om” according to the prescriptions of Vedic injunctions.
V25
tad ity anabhisandhāya phalaṁ yajña-tapaḥ-kriyāḥ
dāna-kriyāśh cha vividhāḥ kriyante mokṣha-kāṅkṣhibhiḥ
Persons who do not desire fruitive rewards, but seek to be free from material entanglements, utter the word “Tat” along with acts of austerity, sacrifice, and charity.
V26
sad-bhāve sādhu-bhāve cha sad ity etat prayujyate
praśhaste karmaṇi tathā sach-chhabdaḥ pārtha yujyate
The word Sat is used in the sense of existence and goodness, and also, O Paartha, the word Sat is added in the sense of an auspicious act.
V27
yajñe tapasi dāne cha sthitiḥ sad iti chochyate
karma chaiva tad-arthīyaṁ sad ity evābhidhīyate
Steadfastness in sacrifice, austerity and charity is called Sat, and also, action relation to these is called Sat.
V28
aśhraddhayā hutaṁ dattaṁ tapas taptaṁ kṛitaṁ cha yat
asad ity uchyate pārtha na cha tat pretya no iha
Whatever is sacrificed, donated or done, and whatever penance is performed, without faith, it is called asat, O Paartha. It is neither here nor after death.
For the reasons cited supra, these boxed are but interpolations.
