17.13 Nothing distributed, no words Krishna speaks
विधिहीनमसृष्टान्नं मन्त्रहीनमदक्षिणम्
श्रद्धाविरहितं यज्ञं तामसं परिचक्षते
vidhi-hīnam asṛiṣhṭānnaṁ mantra-hīnam adakṣhiṇam
śhraddhā-virahitaṁ yajñaṁ tāmasaṁ parichakṣhate
An offering made against what is directed, with no food distributed, without the sacred words, without gifts and without faith, is held to be of inertia.
Explanation
The lowest grade is described by what is missing.
No food distributed, no sacred words, no gifts, no faith — and against what is directed.
Note which absence is listed last and carries the weight. The other three are procedural; faith is the one 17.28 will say makes the difference between an act and nothing at all.
Word by word
- vidhi-hīnam
- without scriptural direction
- asṛiṣhṭa-annam
- without distribution of prasādam
- mantra-hīnam
- with no chanting of the Vedic hymns
- adakṣhiṇam
- with no remunerations to the priests
- śhraddhā
- faith
- virahitam
- without
- yajñam
- sacrifice
- tāmasam
- in the mode of ignorance
- parichakṣhate
- is to be considered
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