17.5 Austerity as self-display Krishna speaks
अशास्त्रविहितं घोरं तप्यन्ते ये तपो जनाः
दम्भाहङ्कारसंयुक्ताः कामरागबलान्विताः
aśhāstra-vihitaṁ ghoraṁ tapyante ye tapo janāḥ
dambhāhankāra-sanyuktāḥ kāma-rāga-balānvitāḥ
Those who practise severe austerity not enjoined by the scriptures, out of pretence and self-regard, driven by desire and attachment and force,
Explanation
Severe austerity, and what it can be for.
Practices not enjoined by the scriptures, undertaken out of pretence and self-regard, driven by desire, attachment and force.
The Gita is not suspicious of difficulty — chapter 6 asked for a great deal of it. What it is naming is austerity as display, which is difficult in exactly the way that gets noticed.
Word by word
- aśhāstra-vihitam
- not enjoined by the scriptures
- ghoram
- stern
- tapyante
- perform
- ye
- who
- tapaḥ
- austerities
- janāḥ
- people
- dambha
- hypocrisy
- ahankāra
- egotism
- sanyuktāḥ
- possessed of
- kāma
- desire
- rāga
- attachment
- bala
- force
- anvitāḥ
- impelled by
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