BG 17.11 — Śraddhātraya-Vibhāga-Yoga

Bhagavad Gītā 17.11Chapter 17 · Śraddhātraya-Vibhāga-Yoga · Krishna → Arjuna · anuṣṭubh

अफलाकाङ्क्षिभिर् यज्ञो विधिदृष्टो य इज्यते ।

यष्टव्यमेवेति मनः समाधाय स सात्त्विकः ॥

aphalākāṅkṣibhir yajño vidhi-dṛṣṭo ya ijyate

yaṣṭavyam eveti manaḥ samādhāya sa sāttvikaḥ

spokensingle-voice recital; rendered via IndicF5 conditioned on a Sanskrit reference clip

meaning

Sacrifice performed exactly as scripture prescribes, by those who want no reward, with the mind settled on one resolve, "this must be done," is sāttvika.

ekras · bhāṣya

Performed by aphala-akankshi — those without fruit-desire — vidhi-drishtah — as scripture has shown — manah samadhaya — settling the mind — yashtavyam eva iti — 'this is simply to be performed.' Sah sattvikah, that yajna is sattvika.

Krishna names the structural marks of sattvika sacrifice: no fruit-desire, full vidhi, mind-settled on the duty itself rather than on what it produces.

Shankara reads the yajna as sattvika that is performed by those who seek no fruit whatsoever — aphala-akanksha — and which has been prescribed by vidhi, settling the mind with firm resolve: yashtavyam eva — it is simply to be performed — nothing more. The performer recognizes no personal benefit to be gained: the rite is its own complete act. The chapter's first sattvika-marker is the operational severance of action from result-attachment.

Madhusudana distinguishes yajna as twofold — kamya (desire-driven, conditional on fruit) and nitya (obligatory, unconditional life-sustaining duty). The sattvika yajna is the nitya-karma performed with all angas — ritual limbs — assembled as far as possible — even by substitute when full form is unavailable — because pratyavaya, the sin of omission, would follow if the rite were skipped. The sattvika is recognized by its alignment with the nitya-frame and its full procedural integrity.

Ramanuja reads the sattvika yajna as performed by persons free from phala-akanksha, with all mantras, dravya, kriya intact as scripture prescribes, settling the mind: 'this is to be performed as kainkarya to Bhagavan — it is svayam-prayojana, self-sufficient as an end in itself, because it is His worship.' The rite is not means-to-end but end-in-itself precisely because Bhagavan is the relational ground. The bhakta's sattvika yajna is the bhakta's expression of his actual relation.

Madhva reads aphala-akankshibhih as those who bear no hunger for fruit. Performing yajna as enjoined by vidhi, settling the mind on yashtavyam eva — this is simply to be performed — is the sattvika rite. The resolve is not psychological equanimity but expression of the jiva's paratantra-mode: the rite is for Hari, the fruit is Hari's, the bhakta's role is dependent worship. The bheda-frame: each element of the rite is real, each is correctly placed when offered to svatantra Hari.

Vallabha's gloss is minimal: 'aphala-iti' — 'beginning with aphala.' From pushti-marga: all action offered to Krishna as His own lila-prasada is already free of fruit-desire because Krishna is the only real agent. The bhakta simply holds the mind steady — manah samadhaya — in the recognition that the rite is itself Krishna's lila operating through the bhakta.

Shridhara opens the triad of yajna-types with the sattvika: that yajna performed by persons free from phala-akanksha, vidhi-drishta — mandated as avashyaka, absolutely necessary, by scripture — and performed with ekagra mind held in the resolve 'yashtavyam eva: the performance of yajna itself is what must be done; no other fruit is to be sought.' The sattvika yajna's structural marks are clear and the chapter's diagnostic continues.

Context

where

Chapter 17 · Śraddhātraya-Vibhāga-Yoga · meter anuṣṭubh

who speaks

Krishna → Arjuna

preceded by — BG 17.10

Food that is stale, putrid, left over from another's plate, or unfit for offering is what the tamasic person craves.

What's going on

Sacrifice performed exactly as scripture prescribes, by those who want no reward, with the mind settled on one resolve, “this must be done,” is sāttvika.

Sūtras through this verse (29)

MadhvaclassicalT1

Hari is supreme — the running reading-rulebetween

15.1The world-tree's root is Viṣṇu above.───→here17.11───→17.23Oṃ-tat-sat names the Lord, three times.

RamsukhdasclassicalD

The three modes (sattva, rajas, tamas) at workbetween

17.2Even faith itself comes in three flavors.───→here17.11───→18.19Knowledge, action, doer, each one threefold.

JayatīrthaclassicalB

Pañcabheda — the five distinctions enforced verse by verseexit

15.17Three orders, each a distinct relatum.───→here17.11───→

show all 29

MadhvaclassicalT12

Closure by gloss — the small repertoirebetween

15.1'Above' is just Viṣṇu, the upward one.───→here17.11───→17.14'Worship of gods' is worship of the One.

MadhvaclassicalT3

Ranking is real — and it never collapsesexit

15.17Beyond all selves stands the Highest Person alone.───→here17.11───→

MadhvaclassicalT4

Liberation is bliss in body — not absorptionexit

15.6The supreme abode does not return its dwellers.───→here17.11───→

MadhvaclassicalT10

The deluder is named — three goddesses, one Lordexit

15.4Cut the world-tree by knowing whose play it is.───→here17.11───→

Gauravmodernchaplaincy_kit_of_tools

Chaplaincy Kit Of Toolsbetween

13.7Itihasa stories and the witness virtues. 'Amanitvam adambhitvam ahimsa kshantir ───→here17.11───→17.15Mantra and speech. 'Anudvega-karam vakyam satyam priya-hitam cha yat, svadhyaya-

Ramsukhdasclassical

Sādhaka Sañjīvanī commentary at this versebetween

───→here17.11───→

Gauravmoderncivilizational_air_conditioning

Civilizational Air Conditioningexit

16.21'Tri-vidham narakasyedam dvaram nashanam atmanah, kamah krodhas tatha lobhah.' T───→here17.11───→

Gauravmodernwitness_self_neti_neti

Witness Self Neti Netiexit

15.7'Mamaivamsho jiva-loke jiva-bhutah sanatanah.' A part of me, eternal, has become───→here17.11───→

JayatīrthaclassicalE

Vishnu-sarvottamatva read into apparently neutral wordsexit

15.16Uttama-puruṣa is Viṣṇu, beyond both.───→here17.11───→

JayatīrthaclassicalG

Citation as proof — śruti, smṛti, MB, Aṣṭādhyāyī, Pañcarātraexit

15.16Aṣṭādhyāyī 5.2.127 controls bhūta.───→here17.11───→

JayatīrthaclassicalJ

Reading the silence — iti śeṣaḥ and iti bhāvaḥexit

15.1Tat-prasaṅge alaukikaṁ — iti śeṣaḥ.───→here17.11───→

RamsukhdasclassicalJ

Divine vs demonic patternsexit

17.5Hard penance off-script is still demonic.───→here17.11───→

RamsukhdasclassicalK

The body is not yoursexit

15.7Self drags the senses like wind drags scent.───→here17.11───→

RāmānujaclassicalK

Tri-guṇa diagnostic for the bhaktabetween

17.2Even faith is sorted by the three modes.───→here17.11───→18.7Wrong renunciation.

VallabhaclassicalJ

Strategic silence — pointers, not absencesbetween

13.24The threefold-knower catalogue goes to silence.───→here17.11───→17.12The threefold yajña/dāna/tapas catalogue is skipped.

MadhusūdanaclassicalB

Different students need different teachingsbetween

17.1A third class: faith without textual training.───→here17.11───→18.1Three kinds of renouncing, one for each grade.

MadhusūdanaclassicalJ

Two kinds of nature — divine and demonicbetween

17.1A third class: faith outside the texts.───→here17.11───→18.1Even renouncing splits into three by disposition.

Ekrasmodernend_of_life

End of life — the threshold tourexit · v2

15.8Carrying the perfume───→here17.11───→

Ekrasmodernanger_management

Anger Managementexit · other

16.22Released from the three gates───→here17.11───→

ĀnandagiriclassicalG

Anūdyate, na vidhīyateexit

17.2Threefold faith: tagged at this site.───→here17.11───→

ĀnandagiriclassicalJ

Prakṛti is never autonomousexit

15.7Aṃśa pinned to the Lord, not free.───→here17.11───→

RāmānujaclassicalF

Two prakṛtis · jīva as eternal aṃśaexit

15.18Named Puruṣottama.───→here17.11───→

VallabhaclassicalK

Aphorism, gloss, full commentaryexit

15.15The bhāṣya-author is named by the Lord himself.───→here17.11───→

VedāntadeśikaclassicalI

9.24 — the standing citation for ārādhyabetween

17.4The mode of worship reveals the worshipper.───→here17.11───→18.46Karma-yoga's act IS indweller-worship.

ŚaṅkaraclassicalF

The Lord is born only as it wereexit

15.16Both the changing and changeless are below the supreme.───→here17.11───→

AbhinavaguptaclassicalF

Three guṇas: contractions of one consciousnessexit

17.2Even faith is graded through the three.───→here17.11───→

Śabda · lemmas (15 unique · 15 occurrences)

समाधाय samādhā — (sam- + ādhā: to place upon) · conv
इज्यते √yaj — to sacrifice, worship (verbal root) · present indicative pass 3rd person singular verb
यष्टव्यम् yaj — to sacrifice, worship (verbal root) · nominative neuter singular gdv noun
सात्त्विकः sāttvika — sāttvika (derived from sattva: 'pertaining to the sattva guṇa') · nominative masculine singular noun

show all 15

अ a — negation prefix (un-, non-, not)
फल phala — fruit, result · compound
आकाङ्क्षिभिः ākāṅkṣin — desiring (ā- + √kāṅkṣ + -in) · instrumental masculine plural noun
यज्ञः yajña — sacrifice, worship, ritual offering · nominative masculine singular noun
विधि vidhi — rule, injunction, prescribed procedure · compound
दृष्टः √dṛś — to see (verbal root) · nominative masculine singular participle noun
यः yad — which, who (relative pronoun) · nominative masculine singular noun
एव eva — indeed, truly, only (emphatic particle)
इति iti — thus (quotative particle)
मनः manas — mind (lower mind), the inner organ of perception · accusative neuter singular noun
स tad — that (distal demonstrative); also 3rd-person pronoun · nominative masculine singular noun

Praśna · so what (7)

01If the very same ritual act can be sāttvika, rājasika, or tāmasika depending only on the performer's inner resolve, what does that imply about the ontological weight of external form versus internal orientation in any practice?
02Shankara says the sāttvika sacrificer recognises 'no personal end is to be accomplished' — but purification of antaḥkaraṇa IS a benefit. Is this a contradiction, or is antaḥkaraṇa-śuddhi categorically different from fruit-desire?

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03Ramanuja locates the absence of fruit-desire in positive re-orientation toward Bhagavān rather than mere negation. Does removing desire require a substitute object of orientation, or can it be accomplished as pure renunciation?
04Madhusudan insists the sāttvika rite is nityakarma — obligatory, not optional — performed even imperfectly by substitute when the full form is unavailable. What is the moral significance of imperfect but sincere obligatory action versus perfect but desire-motivated action?
05The criterion 'yaṣṭavyam eva' (it simply must be done) is a deontological claim inside a broadly consequentialist text. Where else in the Gita does this deontological note appear, and is 17.11 a local elaboration of 2.47?
06If sāttvika yajña requires no desire for fruit, who exactly benefits from its performance — the cosmos, the performer's inner life, Bhagavān, or no one in particular?
07Dvaita would frame fruit-desirelessness as recognition of the jīva's eternal dependence on Hari. Does the motivational story behind 'no fruit-desire' matter to the quality of the action, or only the absence of desire itself?

Vyavahāra · try it in your life

Advaita

Before beginning any serious project today — a work deliverable, a household duty, a difficult conversation — pause and explicitly remove the mental ledger of 'what I will gain.' Ask: 'can I do this because it is simply what is to be done, and then release the outcome entirely?' Notice how the action itself changes quality when the scorecard disappears.

Viśiṣṭādvaita

Reframe one routine daily obligation — a meeting, a meal prepared for family, a report filed — as kainkarya (service offered to the Lord). The obligation does not change; the inner re-orientation does. 'This is not for my advancement; this is His worship in action-form.' Note whether that shift in framing changes the care and attention you bring.

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Dvaita

When you feel resentment at an obligation — 'why must I always be the one who does this?' — recognise that resentment is the mark of treating the action as a transaction with an unsatisfactory return. Madhva's frame: you are by nature a servant of Hari; obligation is ontological, not contractual. The resentment dissolves when the frame shifts from 'what do I get' to 'this is what I am.'

Śuddhādvaita

Offer one creative or devotional act today — a drawing, a song, cooking a meal — without any audience in mind, not even yourself as judge. Vallabha's Puṣṭi insight: when the act is Kṛṣṇa's own play, the question of your ownership of its outcome does not arise. Finish, and let it go without evaluation.

Bhakti

Identify one recurring duty you perform with half-attention because you tell yourself 'it does not really matter.' Shridhara's test: is your mind ekāgra (one-pointed) or scattered during this act? Settle the mind before beginning — 'this is to be done, fully, as it is' — and observe whether the quality of attention changes the quality of the work.

Advaita-Bhakti

Pick one nityakarma (daily obligation that cannot be avoided without cost — exercise, correspondence, basic self-care) that you have been performing grudgingly or skipping. Madhusudan's frame: perform it today as antaḥkaraṇa-śuddhi (inner-instrument maintenance), not for any downstream reward. Even an imperfect version performed with this resolve is sāttvika; the perfect version performed for praise is not.

Adhiṣṭhāna · substrate signature

substratev2.6-frozen

parserByT5-Sanskrit-multitask (Nehrdich/Hellwig/Keutzer EMNLP 2024)

mūlaBelvalkar critical edition (BORI 1947), via Ambuda multi-witness

show all metadata

weightsa=1 · b=0.01 · e_v=0.005 · z=0.2 · h=0 · th=0.01

anchorfit on Ramsukhdas's Sādhak Sañjīvanī (1980), frozen across the eight-commentator panel; cross-validated R@4 = 71.6% on Śaṅkara

extracted2026-04-21

methodPaper 1, Section II.B

↓ view raw per-verse object (JSON)↗ per-verse-object schema ↗ substrate code (MIT) + data (CC-BY 4.0)

The schema generalizes to any bounded-polysemy corpus with discrete primary text units, attested witness traditions, identifiable schools, and formal substrate. Port the per-verse object; refit weights on a domain-appropriate Layer-3 anchor; ship.

Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 17, Verse 11: Krishna to Arjuna — Śraddhātraya-Vibhāga-Yoga