Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 17, Verse 1
अर्जुन उवाचये शास्त्रविधिमुत्सृज्य यजन्ते श्रद्धयाऽन्विताः।तेषां निष्ठा तु का कृष्ण सत्त्वमाहो रजस्तमः।।
arjuna uvāca
ye śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ
teṣāṁ niṣṭhā tu kā kṛṣṇa sattvam āho rajas tamaḥ
also searched as "ye shastravidhim utsrijya yajante shraddhayanvitah"
Translation
Arjuna said, "Now, O Krsna, what is the position or basis of those who, despite leaving aside the injunction of the Sastra, still worship with faith? Is it Sattva, Rajas, or Tamas?"
Vāṇi's rendering
And those who ignore the scriptures yet worship with real faith — where do they stand? In clarity, restlessness, or darkness?
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| अर्जुनarjuna | Arjuna |
| उवाचuvāca | said |
| येye | those who |
| शास्त्रविधिम्śāstra-vidhim | the prescribed rule of scripture |
| उत्सृज्यutsṛjya | having set aside, having left behind |
| यजन्तेyajante | worship, make offering |
| श्रद्धयाśraddhayā | with faith (joins the next word by sandhi) |
| अन्विताःanvitāḥ | filled with, accompanied by |
| तेषाम्teṣām | of those people |
| निष्ठाniṣṭhā | standing, footing, where they stand |
| तुtu | but, then |
| काkā | what is it |
| कृष्णkṛṣṇa | Krishna |
| सत्त्वम्sattvam | clarity |
| आहोāho | or |
| रजःrajaḥ | restlessness (rajas before the following word) |
| तमःtamaḥ | darkness |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 17 Verse 1 mean?
Arjuna asks about people who worship with real faith while ignoring what the scriptures prescribe. Where do such people stand — in sattva, rajas or tamas? He wants a verdict on sincerity that lacks correct form. The question opens the whole chapter, and Krishna answers it by grading faith itself rather than dismissing it.
What does 'ye shastravidhim utsrijya yajante shraddhayanvitah' mean?
It means: those who set aside the rule of scripture yet worship filled with śraddhā. Utsṛjya is a deliberate letting-go, not ignorance. Arjuna is describing people whose devotion is genuine and whose method is unauthorised — and admitting he cannot tell whether that combination is holy or merely careless.
Why does Arjuna ask this question at the start of Chapter 17?
Chapter 16 ended by praising scriptural authority, and Arjuna immediately notices who that leaves out. He has met people who love without licence. Rather than accept a rule that condemns them, he asks. That asking is the mark of a student who has begun to think about others, not only about his own predicament.
Does faith without following scripture still count?
Krishna does not answer with a simple yes or no. He says faith takes the colour of the one who holds it — clear, restless or dark — and that its object shows its quality. So faith always counts for something. What it counts for depends on where it is placed and how steadily you place it.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Arjuna has stopped asking about himself. Sixteen chapters of his own crisis, and now he asks about other people — the ones who never read the rulebook and worship anyway. It is a real question, not a trick. Are they doing it wrong? He offers Krishna three boxes and expects one to be ticked. The question underneath is the one you carry when you pray without knowing the procedure, or love without the right words: does sincerity count when the form is missing? Krishna will not simply tick a box. And you have asked this yourself — standing somewhere holy, unsure which way to face, bowing anyway.