17.1 What about sincere but unscripted? Arjuna speaks
ये शास्त्रविधिमुत्सृज्य यजन्ते श्रद्धयाऽन्विताः
तेषां निष्ठा तु का कृष्ण सत्त्वमाहो रजस्तमः
ye śhāstra-vidhim utsṛijya yajante śhraddhayānvitāḥ
teṣhāṁ niṣhṭhā tu kā kṛiṣhṇa sattvam āho rajas tamaḥ
Those who worship with faith but set aside what the scriptures direct — where do they stand, Krishna? In clarity, restlessness or inertia?
Explanation
Arjuna asks about the sincere person who is doing it wrong.
Chapter 16 ended by making the scriptures the measure. So he asks the obvious next question: what about those who worship with faith but set the directions aside?
It is the sharpest question he asks in the whole book, because it puts sincerity and correctness against each other — and the chapter answers by grading faith itself.
Word by word
- arjunaḥ uvācha
- Arjun said
- ye
- who
- śhāstra-vidhim
- scriptural injunctions
- utsṛijya
- disregard
- yajante
- worship
- śhraddhayā-anvitāḥ
- with faith
- teṣhām
- their
- niṣhṭhā
- faith
- tu
- indeed
- kā
- what
- kṛiṣhṇa
- Krishna
- sattvam
- mode of goodness
- āho
- or
- rajaḥ
- mode of passion
- tamaḥ
- mode of ignorance
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