Bhagavad Gita BG 17.18

Chapter 17, Verse 18 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation

सत्कारमानपूजार्थं तपो दम्भेन चैव यत् । क्रियते तदिह प्रोक्तं राजसं चलमध्रुवम् ॥

satkara-mana-pujartham tapo dambhena caiva yat kriyate tad iha proktam rajasam calam adhruvam

Meaning

Austerity performed for the sake of gaining good treatment (satkara), honor (mana), and reverence (puja) — and with hypocrisy (dambha) — is declared here to be rajasic, unstable and impermanent.

Understanding

Rajasic tapas is identified by its external orientation: satkara (favorable reception, being treated well), mana (honor, high regard), puja (reverence from others). Three forms of social reward that the rajasic ascetic is secretly cultivating. Dambhena (with hypocrisy/pretense): the outward form of austerity is maintained precisely because it generates social capital, while the actual motivation is the opposite of genuine renunciation. The result: calam adhruvam (unstable and impermanent). The fruit of rajasic tapas is unstable because it depends on the unreliable attention of others. When the audience is absent or the reputation fades, the practice collapses. This is the deepest irony: the rajasic ascetic's very display of austerity undermines its efficacy.

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