📿 Shloka Collection

Yat Tu Pratyupakarartham

Gita 17.21 Bhagavad Gita
📖 Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 17 — Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga
यत्तु प्रत्युपकारार्थं फलमुद्दिश्य वा पुनः ।
दीयते च परिक्लिष्टं तद्दानं राजसं स्मृतम् ॥
Yat tu pratyupakarartham phalam uddiishya va punah,
Deeyate cha pariklishtam tad danam rajasam smritam.
यत्
that which
तु
but
प्रत्युपकारार्थम्
with expectation of a favor in return
फलम्
reward
उद्दिश्य
aiming at
दीयते
is given
परिक्लिष्टम्
reluctantly / with pain
राजसम्
rajasic

Rajasic charity comes with strings attached. Krishna identifies three flaws: the giver expects a favor in return; the giver hopes for some spiritual or material reward; or the giving is done reluctantly, with inner resistance.

Each flaw corrupts the act. Expecting reciprocation turns charity into a business deal. Hoping for heavenly merit turns it into a spiritual investment. And giving with a heavy heart — regretting the money as it leaves the hand — drains the act of all grace.

The word "pariklishtam" is precise. It describes the inner wince — the tightening in the chest when parting with something. When giving hurts the giver, when they count the cost even as they hand it over, the charity falls squarely into the rajasic category.

This shloka describes rajasic charity, between sattvic (17.20) and tamasic (17.22). The Gita's broader teaching is clear: the value of any action is determined by the intention behind it. The same act of giving can be sattvic, rajasic, or tamasic — the only variable is the inner motive.

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