17.12
Chapter 17, Verse 12
अभिसंधाय तु फलं दम्भार्थमपि चैव यत्। इज्यते भरतश्रेष्ठ तं यज्ञं विद्धि राजसम्৷৷
abhisaṅdhāya tu phalaṅ dambhārthamapi caiva yat. ijyatē bharataśrēṣṭha taṅ yajñaṅ viddhi rājasam৷৷
Translation
Sacrifice which is performed for the sake of its results, or for self-glorification - that, O best of Aryans, is the product of Passion.
Translation — Purohit Swami
Commentary
अभिसंधाय seeking for, तु indeed, फलम् fruit, दम्भार्थम् for ostentation, अपि also, च and, एव even, यत् which, इज्यते is offered, भरतश्रेष्ठ O best of the Bharatas, तम् that, यज्ञम् sacrifice, विद्धि know, राजसम् Rajasic. Commentary: If anyone performs a sacrifice in order to obtain, heaven, son, wealth, or name and fame, then it is a sacrifice of a Rajasic nature. The performer of this kind of sacrifice has the motive of increasing his own importance, for popularising his own name in the world, for gaining some reward, for showing himself off as a great, pious and learned man, for making an exhibition of his riches for his own glorificaion. He has no aspiration for attaining the knowledge of the Self.
Commentary — Swami Sivananda
Sanskrit and transliteration of the Bhagavad Gita. Corpus compiled from the vedabase and the IIT Kanpur Gita Supersite.