17.18 Done for the respect it earns Krishna speaks
सत्कारमानपूजार्थं तपो दम्भेन चैव यत्
क्रियते तदिह प्रोक्तं राजसं चलमध्रुवम्
satkāra-māna-pūjārthaṁ tapo dambhena chaiva yat
kriyate tad iha proktaṁ rājasaṁ chalam adhruvam
Austerity performed for the sake of respect, honour and reverence, and with show, is said here to be of restlessness — unsteady and impermanent.
Explanation
Done for the respect it earns.
For honour, reverence and show — and then the two adjectives: unsteady and impermanent.
Not condemned, described. An austerity performed for regard lasts exactly as long as the regard does, which is a practical objection rather than a moral one and is harder to argue with.
Word by word
- sat-kāra
- respect
- māna
- honor
- pūjā
- adoration
- artham
- for the sake of
- tapaḥ
- austerity
- dambhena
- with ostentation
- cha
- also
- eva
- certainly
- yat
- which
- kriyate
- is performed
- tat
- that
- iha
- in this world
- proktam
- is said
- rājasam
- in the mode of passion
- chalam
- flickering
- adhruvam
- temporary
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