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Chapter XVII28 verses

अथ सप्तदशोऽध्यायः

श्रद्धात्रयविभागयोगः

The Yoga of the Threefold Division of Faith

Śraddhā-traya-vibhāga-yoga

Man is made of his faith: turn yours to the highest, and let every sacrifice, gift and askesis begin with OM and be offered to That which is. — The Delight of Krishna

The soul enters in
daivī sampad — the divine endowment, disciplined by the law of the Shastra
and is led towards
oṃ tat sat — works of faith consecrated to the Real
Begin at 17 · 1 Play chapter

Recitations

  1. Swami Sarvagananda ji0:00
  2. Ashit Desai0:00
In this chapter

28 verses

Summary of chapter 17

The Gunas, Faith and Works - The Gila next gives an analysis of action in the light of the fundamental idea of the three gunas and the transcendence of them by a self-exceeding culmination of the highest sattwic discipline. in this chapter it lays special stress on Faith. shraddha, the will to believe and to be, know, live and enact the Truth as the principal factor.

Chapter 17 illustration, titled श्रद्धात्रयविभागयोगः
Illustration · Sushanto Nath, Sri Aurobindo Society

Chapter outline

Choose a range to read just those verses.

  1. 17·1–6Faith according to the three Gunas.
  2. 17·7–10Foods according to the three Gunas.
  3. 17·11–13Sacrifice according to the three Gunas.
  4. 17·14–16Tapas of the body, speech and mind.
  5. 17·17–18Tapas according to the three Gunas.
  6. 17·19–22dana according to the three Gunas.
  7. 17·23–28The significance Om, Tat, Sat.
  8. 17·1–28Show all 28 verses

The verses

Showing verses 1–6 of 28 · Show all 28 verses

Arjuna uvācaअर्जुन उवाच

  1. 17·1ये शास्त्रविधिमुत्सृज्य यजन्ते श्रद्धयान्विताः । तेषां निष्ठा तु का कृष्ण सत्त्वमाहो रजस्तमः ॥ १ ॥ye śāstravidhimutsṛjya yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ, teṣāṁ niṣṭhā tu kā kṛṣṇa sattvamāho rajastamaḥ.When men sacrifice to God or the gods with faith, but abandon the rule of the Shastra, what is that…

Śrī Bhagavān uvācaश्रीभगवानुवाच

  1. 17·2त्रिविधा भवति श्रद्धा देहिनां सा स्वभावजा । सात्त्विकी राजसी चैव तामसी चेति तां शृणु ॥ २ ॥trividhā bhavati śraddhā dehināṁ sā svabhāvajā, sāttvikī rājasī caiva tāmasī ceti tāṁ śṛṇu.The faith in embodied beings is of a triple kind like all things in Nature and varies according to the…
  2. 17·3, a key verseसत्त्वानुरूपा सर्वस्य श्रद्धा भवति भारत । श्रद्धामयोऽयं पुरुषो यो यच्छ्रद्धः स एव सः ॥ ३ ॥sattvānurūpā sarvasya śraddhā bhavati bhārata, śraddhāmayo’yaṁ puruṣo yo yacchraddhaḥ sa eva saḥ.The faith of each man takes the shape given to it by his stuff of being, O Bharata.
  3. 17·4यजन्ते सात्त्विका देवान्यक्षरक्षांसि राजसाः । प्रेतान्भूतगणांश्चान्ये यजन्ते तामसा जनाः ॥ ४ ॥yajante sāttvikā devānyakṣarakṣāṁsi rājasāḥ, pretānbhūtagaṇāṁścānye yajante tāmasā janāḥ.Sattwic men offer sacrifice to the gods, the rajasic to the Yakshas (the keepers of wealth) and the rakshasic…
  4. 17·5अशास्त्रविहितं घोरं तप्यन्ते ये तपो जनाः । दम्भाहङ्कारसंयुक्ताः कामरागबलान्विताः ॥ ५ ॥aśāstravihitaṁ ghoraṁ tapyante ye tapo janāḥ, dambhāhaṅkārasaṁyuktāḥ kāmarāgabalānvitāḥ.The men who perform violent austerities, contrary to the Shastra, with arrogance and egoism, impelled by the…
  5. 17·6कर्षयन्तः शरीरस्थं भूतग्राममचेतसः । मां चैवान्तःशरीरस्थं तान्विद्ध्यासुरनिश्चयान् ॥ ६ ॥karṣayantaḥ śarīrasthaṁ bhūtagrāmamacetasaḥ, māṁ caivāntaḥśarīrasthaṁ tānviddhyāsuraniścayān.The men who perform violent austerities, contrary to the Shastra, with arrogance and egoism, impelled by the…
Show all 28 verses

End of the chapter

ॐ तत्सदिति श्रीमद्भगवद्गीतासूपनिषत्सुब्रह्मविद्यायां योगशास्त्रे श्रीकृष्णार्जुनसंवादेश्रद्धात्रयविभागयोगो नाम सप्तदशोऽध्यायः ॥ १७॥

om tatsaditi śrīmadbhagavadgītāsūpaniṣatsubrahmavidyāyāṁ yogaśāstre śrīkṛṣṇārjunasaṁvādeśraddhātrayavibhāgayogo nāma saptadaśo’dhyāyaḥ

Thus, in the Upanishad sung by the Lord, the science of Brahman, the scripture of Yoga, the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, ends the seventeenth chapter entitled “The Yoga of the Threefold Faith”

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