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 ||
定められた作法に従わず、食の施与もなく、必要な真言もなく、ダクシナー(祭司への謝礼)もなく、信(シュラッダー)も欠いて行われる供犠は、ターマサ(闇と迷妄)の供犠と宣せられる。倫理的には、敬虔さと責任、そしてダルマを支えようとする意志を欠いた、外形だけの儀礼にすぎない。
अजुन उवाच
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.