A core teaching · grounding in mood · easy to enter
“Right action becomes pure when reward stops being the reason.”
A sacrifice performed according to scriptural rule by people without desire for reward, with the mind settled on “it must be done,” is sattvic.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Hover a word to focus on it.
Read literallyby those without desire for reward · sacrifice · seen by rule · which · is performed · must be offered · indeed · thus · mind · having settled · that · sattvic
A sacrifice is pure when it is done because it should be done, not for reward.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga" (The Three Kinds of Faith).
Verse 11 sits in Chapter 17 of the Bhagavad Gita — Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga, "The Three Kinds of Faith". The chapter has 28 verses in total.
You send the apology text even though no one may soften. You do it because it is the right thing, not because you can control the reply.
Did you like this verse?
It shifts action from reward-seeking to duty-centered offering.
What this verse means
A sacrifice is pure when it is done because it should be done, not for reward.
Context & commentary
Krishna is still teaching Arjuna on the battlefield, where hesitation has frozen action. After describing lesser kinds of food and conduct, he now defines the pure offering: an act done by rule, with no craving for reward, because duty itself is enough.
Why this verse still matters
You send the apology text even though no one may soften. You do it because it is the right thing, not because you can control the reply.
“There is relief in doing what is right without bargaining for a payoff.”
Explore related themes: yajna (32 verses), sattva (26 verses), nishkama (14 verses)