Sanskrit
अफलाकाङ्क्षिभिर्यज्ञो विधिदृष्टो य इज्यते । यष्टव्यमेवेति मनः समाधाय स सात्त्विकः ॥
aphalākāṅkṣibhir yajño vidhidṛṣṭo ya ijyate yaṣṭavyam eveti manaḥ samādhāya sa sāttvikaḥ
Translation
The sacrifice which is offered by men without desire for fruit, as enjoined by the ordinances, under the firm belief that sacrifice is a duty, that is pure.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
This is the karma-yoga formula from 2.47 and 3.19 applied to the specific case of ritual sacrifice: aphalākāṅkṣibhiḥ, without craving for the fruit, performed simply because it is one’s duty (yaṣṭavyam eva iti). Sattvic yajña, in other words, isn’t defined by its scale or correctness alone but by the same non-attachment to outcome that defines right action generally — the chapter is quietly showing that its threefold typology and the Gita’s core action-doctrine are the same teaching viewed from a different angle. Sāttvic sacrifice: done by the rule, and — the load-bearing clause — yaṣṭavyam eva iti, “because it ought to be offered,” with no craving for the fruit. It is BG 2.47’s discipline applied to ritual: the act, not its payoff, as the motive.
Study deeper
Word by word
- aphalākāṅkṣibhir yajñoअफलाकाङ्क्षिभिः यज्ञो
- the sacrifice [offered] by those who seek no fruit (a-phala-ākāṅkṣibhiḥ + yajñaḥ)
- vidhidṛṣṭo ya ijyateविधिदृष्टो य इज्यते
- performed as the rule prescribes (vidhi-dṛṣṭaḥ + yaḥ + ijyate)
- yaṣṭavyam eveti manaḥयष्टव्यं एवेति मनः
- 'it simply ought to be offered' — the mind (yaṣṭavyam + eva + iti + manaḥ)
- samādhāya sa sāttvikaḥसमाधाय स सात्त्विकः
- having composed [thus], that is sāttvic (samādhāya + saḥ + sāttvikaḥ)
Commentary
Site Commentary
The verse doesn’t just say “without craving for the fruit” — it adds manaḥ samādhāya, having settled the mind on “it ought to be done.” Sattvic sacrifice isn’t defined by the absence of a bad motive alone; it requires the presence of a specific resolved state, a mind that has actively settled rather than merely failed to want something. Non-attachment here is a practiced posture, not a default.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- Don't mistake merely not wanting a reward for the discipline itself — sattvic action requires actively settling your mind on 'this is simply what should be done,' a resolved state you build, not just an absence of craving you happen to notice.
Professional
- When you tell your team to do the right thing without worrying about the outcome, that's not enough on its own — help them arrive at a settled, resolved sense of why the work matters in itself, because absence of a bad motive isn't the same as presence of a good one.
Family & Social
- Doing a favor for family without expecting thanks isn't just about suppressing the wish for credit — it's about actually settling your mind on 'this is simply what I do for them,' a resolved stance you build rather than a feeling you wait to have.
Ask yourself
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