Bhagavad Gita Chapter 17, Verse 28 (BG 17.28)

जियो गीता

Preparing your translation...

कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते

You have the right to act...

Preparing your translation...

कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते

You have the right to act...

मुखपृष्ठ

मुखपृष्ठ ज्ञान अभ्यासक्रम समुदाय जतन केलेले संयोजना

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 17, Verse 28 — Meaning & Commentary | Live Gita

← 17.27

BG 17.28 Sign in to save

17.29→

अश्रद्धया हुतं दत्तं तपस्तप्तं कृतं च यत् |
असदित्युच्यते पार्थ न च तत्प्रेत्य नो इह ||१७-२८||

aśraddhayā hutaṃ dattaṃ tapastaptaṃ kṛtaṃ ca yat . asadityucyate pārtha na ca tatprepya no iha ||17-28||

Whatever is sacrificed, given or performed, and whatever austerity is practised without faith, it is called 'Asat', O Arjuna; it is naught here or hereafter (after death).

In simple words

Krishna closes the chapter with a warning: "But anything done without faith — any offering, any gift, any discipline, any effort — is called 'Asat,' meaning empty and worthless. It counts for nothing in this life or the next."

Word-by-word meanings

अश्रद्धयाwithout faithहुतम्is sacrificedदत्तम्givenतपःausterityतप्तम्is practisedकृतम्performedचandयत्whateverअसत्Asatइतिthusउच्यतेis calledपार्थO Parthaनnotचand

Commentaries

Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.

Swami Sivananda

17.28 अश्रद्धया without faith? हुतम् is sacrificed? दत्तम् given? तपः austerity? तप्तम् is practised? कृतम् performed? च and? यत् whatever? असत् Asat? इति thus? उच्यते is called? पार्थ O Partha? न not? च and? तत् that? प्रेत्य hereafter (after death)? न not? इह here.Commentary Asat That which changes form and has no permanent existence. It does not mean nonexistence as such.Acts of sacrifice? austerity and gift that are performed without faith? under pressure? or to prevent some sort of trouble or to gratify a craving? are Asat in their nature. They yield no permanent benefit or fruit to anybody.Any sacrifice? austerity or gift done without dedicating it to the Lord will be of no avail to the doer in this earthly life here or in the life beyond hereafter. It would be as useless as showers of rain falling on rocky ground or pouring oblations of ghee (clarified butter) on cold ashes. If you have no faith you will become egoistic and obstinate. Your heart will become hard. If you perform even hundreds of sacrifices without faith? without the spirit of selfsurrender to the Lord? even if you distribute the wealth of the whole world in charity without faith in and devotion to the Lord? all these would be worthless and useless. The sages will not appreciate such sacrifices or gifts. Energy? money and time are simply wasted.Thus in the Upanishads of the glorious Bhagavad Gita? the science of the Eternal? the scripture of Yoga? the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna? ends the seventeenth discourse entitledThe Yoga of the Division of the Threefold Faith. ,

Swami Chinmayananda

This interpretation draws on a specific tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.

Your reflection

to save your reflections on each verse.

Want to explore this verse deeper?

← 17.27 17.29→

Commentaries

Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.

Swami Sivananda

Swami Chinmayananda

In this verse, the Lord speaks with decisive certainty in the language of negation: any action performed without faith bears no fruit either in this world or after death. The fruit of all actions depends entirely upon the faith, enthusiasm, and conviction of the doer. A person's faith alone imparts radiance to their actions. Therefore, the fruit of action depends to a great extent upon the faith of the performer. Here it is stated with decisive clarity that sacrifice, charity, austerity, and other actions performed without faith are unreal. From the unreal, the real cannot be born. Therefore, no genuine and supreme fruit can be obtained from such unreal actions. Through this teaching of the Lord, it becomes evident that faith holds primacy in all actions, and without it, actions bear no fruit. This principle of faith is not merely true in the spiritual realm alone, but proves equally true in the attainment of worldly fruits as well. The doer must possess faith in themselves, in the action itself, and in the goal to be achieved. Only then can they exert themselves with their full capacity; otherwise, they cannot. Therefore, Lord Krishna declares that sacrifice, charity, and austerity performed without faith are unreal. Thus concludes the Seventeenth Chapter, named the Yoga of the Threefold Division of Faith, of the Bhagavad Gita Upanishad—the scripture of yoga and the knowledge of Brahman—in the form of the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna.

This interpretation draws on a specific tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 17, Verse 28 (BG 17.28) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

Commentaries

Your reflection

Your reflection

Commentaries