A core teaching · reflective in mood · easy to enter
“Pride can hollow out sacred action until only appearance remains.”
Self-important, stubborn, drunk on wealth and praise, they perform ritual in name only, with pretence and without proper method.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Hover a word to focus on it.
Read literallyself-important · stubborn, rigid · endowed with wealth-pride and honor-pride · they perform ritual · with name-only sacrifices · they · with pretence · without proper method
People swollen with pride, wealth, and status may still perform rituals, but only as show. The outer act remains, while the inner sincerity and right method are missing.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga" (The Divine and Demoniac Natures).
Verse 17 sits in Chapter 16 of the Bhagavad Gita — Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga, "The Divine and Demoniac Natures". The chapter has 24 verses in total.
You post the apology, attend the ceremony, and say the right words — but your chest is tight with image-management. Krishna names the gap between appearance and sincerity.
Did you like this verse?
It teaches you to examine motive, not just performance, and to let practice become honest rather than decorative.
What this verse means
People swollen with pride, wealth, and status may still perform rituals, but only as show. The outer act remains, while the inner sincerity and right method are missing.
Context & commentary
On the battlefield, Krishna is exposing the inner decay behind outward piety. After describing deluded people trapped in desire, he shows another mask: ritual done for show by the proud, rich, and stubborn. The issue is not action itself, but false motive.
Why this verse still matters
You post the apology, attend the ceremony, and say the right words — but your chest is tight with image-management. Krishna names the gap between appearance and sincerity.
“Real practice feels clean and humble, not flashy or self-congratulatory.”