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Ch 17 · Śraddhātraya-Vibhāga-Yoga
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Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 17, Verse 4: Krishna to Arjuna — Śraddhātraya-Vibhāga-Yoga

Bhagavad Gītā 17.4Chapter 17 · Śraddhātraya-Vibhāga-Yoga · Krishna → Arjuna · anuṣṭubh
यजन्ते सात्त्विका देवान् यक्षरक्षांसि राजसाः ।
प्रेतान् भूतगणांश् चान्ये यजन्ते तामसा जनाः ॥
yajante← √yaj(13 verses)present indicative 3rd person plural verbto sacrifice, worship (verbal root)attested in commentariesadvaitaपूजयन्ति सात्त्विकाः सत्त्वनिष्ठाः देवान्, यक्षरक्षांसि राजसाः, प्रेतान् भूतगणांश्च सप्तमातृकादींश्च अन्ये यजन्ते तामसाviśiṣṭādvaita। दुःखासंभिन्नोत्कृष्टसुखहेतुभूतदेवयागविषया श्रद्धा सात्त्विकी इति उक्तं भवति। राजसा जना यक्षरक्षांसि यजन्ते। अन्ये तामसdvaitaसात्विकाः इत्यप्रस्तुतं चोच्यत इत्यत आह -- क इतिbhaktiपूजयन्तिadvaita-bhaktiतेऽन्ये सात्त्विका ज्ञेयाः sāttvikā← sāttvika(15 verses)nominative masculine plural nounsāttvika (derived from sattva: 'pertaining to the sattva guṇa') devān← deva(29 verses)accusative masculine plural noungod, deity, celestial being; the devasattested in commentariesadvaita, यक्षरक्षांसि राजसाः, प्रेतान् भूतगणांश्च सप्तमातृकादींश्च अन्ये यजन्ते तामसाः जनाःviśiṣṭādvaitaयजन्तेadvaita-bhaktiरुद्रादीन् सात्त्विकान् यजन्ते तेऽन्ये सात्त्विका ज्ञेयाः yakṣa← yakṣa(3 verses)compound (compound member)yakṣa (a class of nature spirits)-rakṣāṃsi← rakṣas(3 verses)accusative neuter plural nounrākṣasa; demonattested in commentariesadvaitaनैः तादयः, स्वधर्मात्प्रच्युता विप्रादयो देहपातादूर्ध्वं वायुदेहमापन्नाः प्रेताःadvaita-bhaktiच राक्षसान्निः ऋतिप्रभृतीन् राजसान्यजन्ते तेऽन्ये राजसा ज्ञेयाः rājasāḥ← rājasa(15 verses)nominative masculine plural nounrājasic; pertaining to the rajas guṇa (passion, activity)attested in commentariesadvaita, प्रेतान् भूतगणांश्च सप्तमातृकादींश्च अन्ये यजन्ते तामसाः जनाः
pretān← pretaaccusative masculine plural noundeparted, deceased; ghost (past-pple. of pra- + √i)attested in commentariesadvaitaभूतगणांश्च सप्तमातृकादींश्च अन्ये यजन्ते तामसाः जनाःviśiṣṭādvaitaभूतगणान् यजन्तेadvaita-bhaktiविप्रादयः स्वधर्मात्प्रच्युता देहपातादूर्ध्वं वायवीयं देहमापन्ना उल्कामुखकटपूतनादिसंज्ञाः प्रेता भवन्तीति मनूक्तान्पिशा bhūta← bhūta(67 verses)compound (compound member)being, creature; element; past, gone-gaṇā← gaṇa(3 verses)accusative masculine plural nounhost, troop, groupṃś cānye yajante← √yaj(13 verses)present indicative 3rd person plural verbto sacrifice, worship (verbal root)attested in commentariesadvaitaपूजयन्ति सात्त्विकाः सत्त्वनिष्ठाः देवान्, यक्षरक्षांसि राजसाः, प्रेतान् भूतगणांश्च सप्तमातृकादींश्च अन्ये यजन्ते तामसाviśiṣṭādvaita। दुःखासंभिन्नोत्कृष्टसुखहेतुभूतदेवयागविषया श्रद्धा सात्त्विकी इति उक्तं भवति। राजसा जना यक्षरक्षांसि यजन्ते। अन्ये तामसdvaitaसात्विकाः इत्यप्रस्तुतं चोच्यत इत्यत आह -- क इतिbhaktiपूजयन्तिadvaita-bhaktiतेऽन्ये सात्त्विका ज्ञेयाः tāmasā← tāmasa(15 verses)nominative masculine plural nountāmasa (derived from tamas 'darkness': 'pertaining to the tamas guṇa') janāḥ← jana(14 verses)nominative masculine plural nounperson, people, folkattested in commentariesadvaita।।एवं कार्यतो निर्णीताः सत्त्वादिनिष्ठाः शास्त्रविध्युत्सर्गे। तत्र कश्चिदेव सहस्रेषु देवपूजादिपरः सत्त्वनिष्ठो भवति, बviśiṣṭādvaitaप्रेतान् भूतगणान् यजन्तेbhaktiसत्त्वप्रकृतीन्देवानेव यजन्ते पूजयन्तिadvaita-bhaktiशास्त्रीयविवेकहीनाः ये स्वाभाविक्या श्रद्धया देवान् रुद्रादीन् सात्त्विकान् यजन्ते तेऽन्ये सात्त्विका ज्ञेयाः
spokensingle-voice recital; rendered via IndicF5 conditioned on a Sanskrit reference clip
meaning

Those of sattva worship the gods; those of rajas worship yakshas and rakshasas; the tamas-bound worship spirits of the dead and troops of elemental beings.

Bhāṣyakāra purports

  • Śaṅkaraadvaita

    Those established in sattva (purity) worship the devas (luminous cosmic powers); those driven by rajas (passion) worship yakshas (wealth-spirits) and rakshasas (demonic forces); while yet others, the tamas-bound (darkness-bound), worship pretas (spirits of the dead) and bhuta-ganas (troops of elemental beings) such as the saptamatrikas. Sankara notes that only a rare one among thousands attains sattva-nistha (establishment in purity) oriented toward deva-puja (worship of the luminous); the great majority of creatures remain locked in rajo-nistha (passion-establishment) or tamo-nistha (darkness-establishment). This threefold natural sorting reveals that sraddha (faith) is not free-floating sentiment but a traceable index of one's gunic constitution.

    divergence: Sankara: 'sattvanisthah devan... rajonishthas tamonishthas ca praninam bahulye' — the commentator explicitly identifies sattva-nistha as the scarce condition and rajas/tamas as the dominant mass.

  • Rāmānujaviśiṣṭādvaita

    Those whose sraddha is saturated with sattva-guna worship the devas, whose worship produces exalted joy unmixed with suffering; those of rajasic sraddha worship yakshas and rakshasas, whose worship yields only joy intermingled with pain; the tamasic worship pretas and bhuta-ganas, whose worship produces near-pure suffering with the barest sliver of pleasure. Ramanuja makes the quality of the fruit a diagnostic of the quality of the sraddha — and then sharpens the cut: even within sastriya (scripture-sanctioned) worship the guna determines the fruit, but in asastriya worship performed contrary to Bhagavan's own teaching there is no happiness whatsoever, only anartha (harm). The implication is that genuine kainkarya (service-devotion) to Bhagavan alone transcends this three-tiered structure entirely.

    divergence: Ramanuja: 'duhkhasamhinnotthrsta-sukhahetu-bhuta-devayaga-vishaya sraddha sattviki... madanusasanaviparitatvena na kascid api sukhalavah' — fruit-quality as gunic index, and the explicit condemnation of contra-Bhagavan worship.

  • Madhvadvaita

    Madhva introduces this verse as a distinguishing analysis: one whose sraddha is sattvic worships the devas, who are themselves hierarchically ordered servants of Hari (Vishnu); rajasic beings worship yakshas and rakshasas; tamasic beings worship pretas and bhutas. For Madhva the critical thrust is hierarchical ontology — the jiva (individual soul) is eternally dependent, and the entity worshipped reflects the jiva's own grade of dependence-acknowledgment. To worship lesser beings is not merely spiritually inferior but ontologically erroneous, a misapprehension of Hari's sovereign lordship (aisvaryam) over all beings including the devatas.

    divergence: Madhva: 'kah sattvikasraddhah ityadi vibhajya' — the commentary treats this verse as a systematic differentiation exercise rooted in the sattvik/rajasik/tamasik sraddha analysis of the preceding verse.

  • Vallabhaśuddhādvaita

    Vallabha reads this verse through Bhagavata Purana (1.2.27): those of rajas-tamas constitution worship beings of like constitution — this is the pramanika (evidenced) pattern. The sattvic worship sattvik devas, but even this remains within the guna-domain and below the threshold of Krsna-bhakti proper. Vallabha's distinctive move is the citation of Bhagavata: 'rajastamah-prakrtayah samasilan bhajanti va' — those of rajas-tamas nature serve those of like nature. The verse thus triple-describes the asastriya (extra-scriptural) worshippers who have abandoned sastra-vidhi (scriptural injunction) and sorted themselves into the daiva-asura spectrum without reaching the pure grace-channel of Pustimarga.

    divergence: Vallabha: 'sastrividhim utsrjya tridha yajanto daiva asurasca uktah' — the Bhagavata citation and the explicit asastriya frame are Vallabha's own contribution to the verse.

  • Śrīdharabhakti

    Sridhara Svami reads the verse as a systematic charting of the three-guna types through their natural worship tendencies: the sattvic naturally gravitate to the devas, the rajasic to yakshas and rakshasas, the tamasic to pretas and bhuta-ganas. The key hermeneutic he supplies is bidirectional — one can infer the guna of the worshipper from their deity-preference, and can infer the preferred deity from the guna. This makes deva-puja a reliable spiritual index: knowing a person's upasana (mode of worship) reveals their prakrti (innate constitution). The tone is non-polemic; the verse is diagnostic, not condemnatory.

    divergence: Sridhara: 'tattad-devatanam tu pujare-cubhis tattat-pujakanam sattvikatvadi jnatavyam ityarthah' — the bidirectional inference between guna and deity-preference is Sridhara's explicit gloss.

  • Madhusūdanaadvaita-bhakti

    Madhusudana Sarasvati frames this verse as the epistemological answer to a prior question: how is one's sraddha to be known? It is known by inference from the linga (mark) of one's worship-activity, just as fire is inferred from smoke. The sattvic worship Rudra and other sattvik devas; the rajasic worship Kubera and other yakshas, along with rakshasas such as Nirriti; the tamasic worship pretas — those fallen brahmanas and others who at death have assumed airy bodies and taken names like Ulkamukha and Kataputa — and the saptamatrikas and similar bhuta-troops. Madhusudana adds that the word 'anye' (others) in all three clauses signals vailaksanya (distinctness) among the three types, preserving the verse's diagnostic precision. Underlying this analysis is the Advaita-bhakti insight that sraddha, once identified through its guna-linga, can be elevated toward Krsna through viveka (discrimination) and devotion.

    divergence: Madhusudana: 'devapujadi-karya-lingenaanumeyety aha... anye iti padam trisv api vailaksanya-dyotanartham sambadhyate' — the linga-inference epistemology and the anye-vailaksanya reading are his distinctive contributions.

Sūtrakṛt-Gītā · v1.0 · gita.ekrasworks.com