Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 17, Verse 4
यजन्ते सात्त्विका देवान्यक्षरक्षांसि राजसाः।प्रेतान्भूतगणांश्चान्ये यजन्ते तामसा जनाः।।
yajante sāttvikā devān yakṣa-rakṣānsi rājasāḥ
pretān bhūta-gaṇānś cānye yajante tāmasā janāḥ
also searched as "yajante sattvika devan yaksha-rakshansi rajasah"
Translation
The sattvic types worship the gods; the rajasic types worship yaksas and rakshasas; and the others, the tamasic types, worship the departed ancestors and hosts of bhutas.
Vāṇi's rendering
The clear worship the gods; the restless, powers and spirits; the dark worship ghosts and the wandering dead.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| यजन्तेyajante | they worship, they offer to |
| सात्त्विकाःsāttvikāḥ | those of clear, settled temper (shown as sāttvikā before the next word) |
| देवान्devān | the gods, the shining ones |
| यक्षरक्षांसिyakṣa-rakṣānsi | yakṣas and rākṣasas — hoarding powers and fierce spirits |
| राजसाःrājasāḥ | the restless, driven ones |
| प्रेतान्pretān | the departed, the wandering dead |
| भूतगणान्bhūta-gaṇān | hosts of elemental spirits (the final n appears as ś before ca) |
| चca | and |
| अन्येanye | others (joined with ca as cānye) |
| यजन्तेyajante | they worship |
| तामसाःtāmasāḥ | the dark, clouded ones (shown as tāmasā before the next word) |
| जनाःjanāḥ | people, folk |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 17 Verse 4 mean?
It means worship is a mirror. Krishna sorts people not by the deity's name but by the state that reaches for it — the settled reach toward the gods, the driven toward powers that can be bargained with, the clouded toward ghosts and the restless dead. Change the state within, and what you reach for changes on its own.
What is the meaning of 'yajante sattvika devan yaksha-rakshansi rajasah'?
The clear worship the gods; the restless worship yakṣas and rākṣasas. Yakṣas guard wealth, rākṣasas hold force. A rājasic heart wants both, so it prays for leverage. Krishna is not forbidding this. He is showing you that the prayer's shape reveals the one praying, before any answer arrives.
Is Krishna condemning people who worship spirits or ancestors?
He is diagnosing, not condemning. Tāmasa here names a clouded state — turning toward what cannot give, in the hope of getting. Krishna spends this whole chapter describing states rather than damning people, because a state can shift. Faith is not the problem; the darkness the faith is filtered through is.
How do I know which kind of worship is mine?
Look at what you ask for. If you go to ask for advantage over someone, that is the restless kind. If you go out of dread, to appease something formless, that is the clouded kind. If you go simply because something luminous draws you, and you want nothing — that is the clear one.
Themes in this verse
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Commentary
Krishna is not ranking gods here. He is reading worshippers. Tell him what you kneel before and he will tell you what state you are in — the object is chosen by the one who chooses it. A clear mind reaches for what is luminous. A restless mind reaches for power, for what can be bargained with. A dark mind reaches downward, toward the dead, toward what cannot answer. This is not punishment; it is description. So notice what you turn to at three in the morning when you are afraid. That is the reading.