Bhagavad Gita BG 17.7
Chapter 17, Verse 7 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
आहारस्त्वपि सर्वस्य त्रिविधो भवति प्रियः । यज्ञस्तपस्तथा दानं तेषां भेदमिमं शृणु ॥
aharas tv api sarvasya tri-vidho bhavati priyah yajnas tapas tatha danam tesham bhedam imam shrnu
Meaning
The food preferred by all people is also of three kinds — and similarly sacrifice (yajna), austerity (tapas), and charity (dana). Hear this distinction of each.
Understanding
The pivot verse of Ch17: having established that shraddha is threefold, Krishna now maps the same framework onto the four great domains of life: ahara (food), yajna (sacrifice/worship), tapas (austerity/discipline), and dana (charity/giving). Each is sattvic, rajasic, or tamasic. The teaching: consciousness and action are not separate. What you eat, how you worship, what you discipline, and how you give — all are expressions of your shraddha. The framework extends from the innermost (faith) to the outermost (what you put in your body). Tri-vidho bhavati priyah (is of three kinds, preferred): what you love to eat reveals your guna-nature.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| आहारः | aharah | food, what is taken in, nourishment |
| त्रिविधः | tri-vidhah | of three kinds, threefold |
| प्रियः | priyah | preferred, loved, dear — what one naturally gravitates toward |
| भेदम् | bhedam | distinction, difference, division |
| दानम् | danam | charity, giving, generosity |
| आहारः | āhāraḥ | food |
| तु | tu api | but also |
| सर्वस्य | sarvasya | of everyone |
| त्रि-विधः | tri-vidhaḥ | threefold |
| भवति | bhavati | is |
| प्रियः | priyaḥ | dear, pleasing |
| यज्ञः | yajñaḥ | sacrifice |
| तपः | tapaḥ | austerity |
| तथा | tathā | also |
| दानम् | dānam | charity |
| तेषाम् | teṣām | of these |
| इमम् | imam | this |
| शृणु | śṛṇu | hear |