Bhagavad Gita — Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga, Shloka 11
Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga
अफलाकाङ्क्षिभिर्यज्ञो विधिदृष्टो य इज्यते । यष्टव्यमेवेति मनः समाधाय स सात्त्विकः ॥ १७.११ ॥
aphalākāṅkṣibhir yajño vidhidṛṣṭo ya ijyate | yaṣṭavyam eveti manaḥ samādhāya sa sāttvikaḥ || 17.11 ||
That sacrifice which is performed according to scriptural ordinance by those who seek no fruit, with the mind firmly resolved that ‘this must be done’—that is sāttvika.
जो यज्ञ फल न चाहने वाले पुरुषों के द्वारा शास्त्रविधि से किया जाता है और मन को ‘यज्ञ करना ही कर्तव्य है’—इस प्रकार स्थिर करके किया जाता है, वह सात्त्विक है।
That sacrifice is sattvic which is performed according to prescribed rule by those not desiring reward, with the mind settled on the conviction: ‘it is to be done’ (as a duty).
Traditional translations often emphasize ‘scriptural injunction’ (vidhi) and ‘duty’ (kartavya). Academic readings note the deontic stance—action done because it ought to be done—aligning with niṣkāma orientation.
FAQs
It highlights motivation: practices performed without reward-seeking and with steady resolve tend to reduce anxiety about outcomes and support mental composure.
As an expression of sattva, the act aligns with clarity and order; it models action within prakṛti that becomes less binding when not appropriated by craving for results.
After classifying diets, the text applies the same threefold guṇa lens to sacrifice, specifying the sattvic form first.
It can inform secular ethics: performing civic, professional, or familial duties conscientiously without excessive fixation on recognition or payoff.