Sanskrit
अदेशकाले यद्दानमपात्रेभ्यश्च दीयते । असत्कृतमवज्ञातं तत्तामसमुदाहृतम् ॥
adeśakāle yad dānam apātrebhyaś ca dīyate asatkṛtam avajñātaṃ tat tāmasam udāhṛtam
Translation
That alms given at unfit place and time, and to unworthy persons, disrespectfully and contemptuously, that is declared of darkness.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Tamasic giving simply inverts every condition verse 20 set for sattvic giving — wrong place, wrong time, wrong recipient, given with contempt rather than respect. This closes the fourth and final triad (after food, sacrifice, and austerity), completing the chapter’s descriptive survey before it turns, in the next verse, to the Om Tat Sat formula that ties the whole typology back to a single metaphysical anchor.