Srimad Bhagavad-Gita : Chapter-17. Slokam-17.

 ==========================================================================

========================================================================

Monday, December 20, 2021. 7:40. PM.
Srimad Bhagavad-Gita : 17-17.
Chapter-17. { Sraddha-traya-vibhaga-yogam } -17.
Slokam-17.

========================================================================

Slokam-17 :

"sraddhaya  paraya  taptam  tapastat  trividham  naraih,

aphalakankshibhiyukaitah  sattvikam   paricakshate."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Slokam-17 Translation :

"This threefold austerity, practiced by men whose aim is not to benefit themselves materially but to please the Supreme, is of the nature of goodness."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Translation :

aphala  akankshibhih  yukaitah  =  without desires for fruits  with balanced  mind;

naraih  paraya  sraddhaya    taptam   =  with  great  faith  and  care executed  by  men;

trividhah  tat  tapah  =  that  three  kinds  of  tapas ( austerity );

sattvikam   paricakshate  =  said  to  be  sattvic.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Commentary :

The words aphala-akanksibhih means those who have no desire for rewards. Those devout and evolved jivas or embodied beings with ardent faith, who are imbued with the consciousness that all their actions are humble offerings of worship rendered to the Supreme Lord Krishna or any of His authorized incarnations and expansions as revealed in Vedic scriptures; performing the three aforementioned types of austerity of the physical body, speech and mind are known to be in sattva guna the mode of goodness.

Thus the tapah or austerities performed through the physical body, speech and the mind have been delineated by Lord Krishna. These threefold austerities when practiced without any desire for reward or compensation with great faith and steadfast determination by those devoted to bhakti or exclusive loving devotion to the Supreme Lord are situated completely in sattva guna the mode of goodness.

The three fold divisions of austerity of the physical body, speech and the mind has been delineated by Lord Krishna based on the quality of sattva guna the mode of goodness. Those who expect no rewards or enumeration in return who perform the aforementioned austerities with great faith and steadfast determination in Lord Krishna, adhering to the absolute authority of the Vedic scriptures are situated in sattva guna.

Having delineated the austerities of the body, speech, and mind, Shree Krishna now mentions their characteristics when they are performed in the mode of goodness. He says that an austerity loses its sanctity when material benefits are sought from its performance. It must be performed in a selfless manner, without attachment to rewards. Also, our faith in the value of the austerity should remain steadfast in both success and failure, and its practice should not be suspended because of laziness or inconvenience.

***

To be continued ....

===========================================================================