Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 17, Verse 28
अश्रद्धया हुतं दत्तं तपस्तप्तं कृतं च यत्।असदित्युच्यते पार्थ न च तत्प्रेत्य नो इह।।
aśraddhayā hutaṁ dattaṁ tapas taptaṁ kṛtaṁ ca yat
asad ity ucyate pārtha na ca tat pretya no iha
also searched as "ashraddhaya hutam dattam tapas taptam kritam cha yat"
Translation
Whatever offering or gift is made, whatever austerity is practiced, and whatever action is performed without faith, that is called Asat, O Arjuna. It is of no value here or hereafter.
Vāṇi's rendering
But whatever is offered, given, endured, or done without faith is Asat — nothing. It counts neither here nor beyond.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| अश्रद्धयाaśraddhayā | without faith, with no trust behind it |
| हुतम्hutaṁ | offered into the fire |
| दत्तम्dattaṁ | given away |
| तपःtapaḥ | austerity, self-discipline (appears as tapas before t- by sandhi) |
| तप्तम्taptaṁ | endured, borne as heat |
| कृतम्kṛtaṁ | done, performed |
| चca | and |
| यत्yat | whatever |
| असत्asat | unreal, not-there, without substance (asad before the vowel of iti) |
| इतिiti | thus, so (ity before ucyate) |
| उच्यतेucyate | is called |
| पार्थpārtha | Arjuna, son of Pṛthā |
| नna | not |
| चca | and |
| तत्tat | that |
| प्रेत्यpretya | after death, beyond |
| नोno | nor (na + u) |
| इहiha | here, in this world |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 17 Verse 28 mean?
It means an act done without faith does not count. Krishna names four things — offering, giving, austerity, any deed — and says that when śraddhā is absent, all of them are asat: without substance. The act happened; nothing came of it. Not in this world, not beyond it.
What does ashraddhaya hutam dattam tapas taptam kritam cha yat teach?
That the mechanics of a good act are not the act. Fire, gift, hunger endured — Krishna lists them and cancels them all with one word, aśraddhayā. Faith here is not belief in a doctrine. It is whether anything in you was present when your hands moved.
Does this mean my charity is worthless if I do not feel devoted?
Krishna is not asking for emotion. Asat is not cold-heartedness; it is absence — giving because it looks right, fasting because others are watching, sitting for prayer while somewhere else entirely. Give while actually giving, and the verse has nothing against you.
Why does Krishna say it counts neither here nor beyond?
Because both accountings run on the same thing. An act with no trust behind it buys you no inner steadiness now, and leaves no impression to ripen later. It is effort spent on the surface of a life. Krishna does not call it sin. He calls it nothing.
Themes in this verse
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Commentary
Asat does not mean badly done. It means not there. Krishna has just praised the offering, the gift, the austerity — and now he says those same acts, performed without śraddhā, do not register. The fire was lit. The money changed hands. The fast was kept, hunger and all. And nothing was built, here or beyond, because nothing in you stood behind it. This is the sharpest thing said about ritual anywhere in the Gītā: form is not enough, and hollow form is not half-enough — it is zero. So before the next thing you do out of habit, ask whether you actually mean it.