Sanskrit
अफलाकाङ्क्षिभिर्यज्ञो विधिदृष्टो य इज्यते । यष्टव्यमेवेति मनः समाधाय स सात्त्विकः ॥
aphalākāṅkṣibhir yajño vidhidṛṣṭo ya ijyate yaṣṭavyam eveti manaḥ samādhāya sa sāttvikaḥ
Translation
The sacrifice which is offered by men without desire for fruit, as enjoined by the ordinances, under the firm belief that sacrifice is a duty, that is pure.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
This is the karma-yoga formula from 2.47 and 3.19 applied to the specific case of ritual sacrifice: aphalākāṅkṣibhiḥ, without craving for the fruit, performed simply because it is one’s duty (yaṣṭavyam eva iti). Sattvic yajña, in other words, isn’t defined by its scale or correctness alone but by the same non-attachment to outcome that defines right action generally — the chapter is quietly showing that its threefold typology and the Gita’s core action-doctrine are the same teaching viewed from a different angle.
Concepts