Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 17, Verse 22
अदेशकाले यद्दानमपात्रेभ्यश्च दीयते।असत्कृतमवज्ञातं तत्तामसमुदाहृतम्।।
adeśa-kāle yad dānam apātrebhyaś ca dīyate
asat-kṛtam avajñātaṁ tat tāmasam udāhṛtam
also searched as "adeshakale yad danam apatrebhyash cha diyate"
Translation
That gift which is given at the wrong place, wrong time, to an unworthy recipient, without due respect and with contempt, is called the gift of a Tamasa nature.
Vāṇi's rendering
A gift given at the wrong place and time, to the wrong hands, without respect — or with contempt — is dark.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| अदेशकालेadeśa-kāle | at the wrong place and the wrong time |
| यत्yad | which |
| दानम्dānam | gift, act of giving |
| अपात्रेभ्यःapātrebhyaś | to unfit recipients, into the wrong hands (final ḥ becomes ś before ca) |
| चca | and |
| दीयतेdīyate | is given |
| असत्कृतम्asat-kṛtam | done without honour, handed over carelessly |
| अवज्ञातम्avajñātaṁ | with contempt, slightingly |
| तत्tat | that |
| तामसम्tāmasam | of darkness, dull and clouded |
| उदाहृतम्udāhṛtam | is called, is declared to be |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 17 Verse 22 mean?
It means a gift can be spoiled without a rupee being subtracted from it. Wrong place, wrong moment, wrong recipient, no respect — or open contempt — and the act turns tāmasic, dull. Krishna is measuring not the amount but the manner. Generosity handled carelessly does damage on both sides of the hand.
What does adeshakale yad danam apatrebhyash cha diyate teach about charity?
That charity has a form as well as a content. Giving at a fitting time, in a fitting place, to hands that can actually use it, with honour shown to the one receiving — this is the shape of a clean gift. Skip the shape and you have performed a transaction, not an offering.
Why does the Gita call a disrespectful gift dark?
Because tāmas is heaviness and blindness, and contempt is exactly that. The giver does not see the person in front of him; he sees a nuisance to be discharged. Something that should have opened him closes him instead. The gift leaves his hand and he is smaller for it.
How do I know if my giving has become tamasic?
Ask whether you looked at the person. Ask whether you gave when it suited them or only when it suited you. Ask whether relief followed, or a small pride, or a small disgust. Reluctance and haste are the signals. Where honour is absent, the darkness has already entered.
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Notice that nothing here is wrong with the gift itself. The coin is the same coin. What darkens it is the where, the when, the hands, and above all the face of the giver as he hands it over. A gift can be an insult. Given at the wrong hour to someone who cannot use it, dropped without a look, it wounds the one who receives and hardens the one who gives. Krishna is teaching Arjuna that dharma lives in the details. So when you give, watch the small things — whether you looked up, whether you said the name.