Bhagavad Gita 17.19मूढग्राहेणात्मनो यत्पीडया क्रियते तपः।परस्योत्सादनार्थं वा तत्तामसमुदाहृतम् ॥
mūḍha-grāheṇātmano yat pīḍayā kriyate tapaḥ
parasyotsādanārthaṁ vā tat tāmasam udāhṛitam
Sanskrit recitation
Food, effort, and giving · 17.7–17.22 · Teaching
Translation
That austerity which is practised out of a foolish notion, with self-torture, or for the purpose of destroying another, is declared to be of the Tamasic nature.
Hindi translation
जो तप मूढ़तापूर्वक हठसे अपनेको पीड़ा देकर अथवा दूसरोंको कष्ट देनेके लिये किया जाता है, वह तप तामस कहा गया है।
Meaning
Some burn sulphur in a pot and place it on their head. Some thrust hooks of iron into their flesh. Some hang themselves with their head downwards over fire and swallow smoke. Some stand in cold water immersed up to the neck. Some torture the body by lighting fires on the four sides (with the sun as the fifth fire -- this is known as the Panchagni Tapas). Some sit in the centre of a circle of fire. Such austerities are Tamasic. These will not help one to attain knowledge of the Self.
After Swami Sivananda
Food, effort, and giving· 17.7–17.22→
Teachers usually read this idea across several verses together, one shared reflection covers the whole unit.
- 17.7The food that is dear to each is threefold, as well as sacrifice, austerity, and…
- 17.8The foods that increase life, purity, strength, health, joy, and cheerfulness (good…
- 17.9The foods that are bitter, sour, salty, overly hot, pungent, dry, and burning are liked by…
- 17.10That which is stale, tasteless, putrid, rotten, rejected, and impure is the food liked by…
- 17.11That sacrifice which is offered by men without desire for reward, as enjoined by the…
- 17.12The sacrifice that is offered, O Arjuna, seeking a reward and for show, know that to be a…
- 17.13They declare that sacrifice to be Tamasic which is contrary to the ordinances of the…
- 17.14Worship of the gods, the twice-born, the teachers, and the wise; purity,…
- 17.15Speech that causes no excitement, is truthful, pleasant, and beneficial; the practice of…
- 17.16Serenity of mind, good-heartedness, self-control, and purity of nature—this is called…
- 17.17This threefold austerity, practiced by steadfast men, with the utmost faith, desiring no…
- 17.18The austerity that is practiced with the aim of gaining good reception, honor, and…
17.19That austerity which is practised out of a foolish notion, with self-torture, or for the…
- 17.20That gift which is given to one who does nothing in return, knowing it to be a duty to…
- 17.21And, that gift which is given with the intention of receiving something in return, or…
- 17.22The gift that is given in the wrong place and at the wrong time, to unworthy persons,…
Word-by-word→
- tat
- that
- vā
- or
- yat
- which
- kriyate
- is performed
- parasya
- of others
- tapaḥ
- austerity
- mūḍha
- those with confused notions
- tāmasam
- in the mode of ignorance
- grāheṇa
- with endeavor
- pīḍayā
- torturing
- ātmanaḥ
- one’s own self
- udāhṛitam
- is described to be
- utsādana-artham
- for harming
Read this when you feel
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- 17.4The sattvic, or pure, men worship the gods; the rajasic, or passionate, worship the…
- 6.44By that same former practice, he is borne on in spite of himself. Even he who merely…
- 16.22A person who is liberated from these three gates of darkness, O Arjuna, practices what is…
- 14.13Darkness, inertia, carelessness, and delusion—these arise when Tamas is predominant, O…