Sanskrit
आत्मसंभाविताः स्तब्धा धनमानमदान्विताः । यजन्ते नामयज्ञैस्ते दम्भेनाविधिपूर्वकम् ॥
ātmasaṃbhāvitāḥ stabdhā dhanamānamadānvitāḥ yajante nāmayajñais te dambhenāvidhipūrvakam
Translation
Self-glorifying, stubborn, filled with the pride and intoxication of wealth, they perform lip-sacrifices for ostentation, contrary to scriptural ordinance.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Ritual reappears here, but hollowed out: “nāma-yajñaiḥ” — sacrifices in name only — performed “dambhena,” for ostentation, and “avidhipūrvakam,” contrary to scriptural procedure. The target isn’t sacrifice itself but its capture by vanity — people stubborn and intoxicated with wealth using a genuinely religious form to display status rather than to mean anything by it. This anticipates the concern that opens Chapter 17 directly: if the problem here is ritual performed for the wrong reasons, what about ritual abandoned but performed with real faith — is that better or worse than what’s described in this verse?