Shloka 13
Abhimanyu’s Assault on Bhīṣma’s Screen; Banner-Felling and Reinforcements (सौभद्र-भीष्म-समरः)
विधिहीनमसृष्टान्नं5 मन्त्रहीनमदक्षिणम्ः | श्रद्धाविरहितं यज्ञ तामसं परिचक्षते,शास्त्रविधिसे हीन, अन्नदानसे रहित, बिना मन्त्रोंके, बिना दक्षिणाके और बिना श्रद्धाके किये जानेवाले यज्ञको तामस यज्ञ कहते हैं
vidhihīnam asṛṣṭānnaṃ mantrahīnam adakṣiṇam | śraddhāvirahitaṃ yajñaṃ tāmasaṃ paricakṣate ||
Arjuna says: A sacrifice performed without the prescribed rules, without proper distribution of food, without the required mantras, without the offering of priestly fees, and without faith is declared to be a tāmasika (dark, deluded) sacrifice. Ethically, it is an outward show of ritual that lacks reverence, responsibility, and the intention to uphold dharma.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ritual action is ethically meaningful only when grounded in śāstric procedure, proper offering and sharing, mantric sanctification, fair recompense (dakṣiṇā), and sincere faith. When these are absent, the act becomes tāmasika—an empty or deluded performance rather than dharmic worship.
In the Bhīṣma Parva’s teaching context, Arjuna is being instructed about right conduct and the qualities (guṇas) that color human actions. This verse classifies a certain kind of sacrifice as tāmasika by listing the concrete deficiencies that make it spiritually and ethically flawed.