Shraddhātraya-Vibhāga Yoga (Ch 17)

This chapter of 28 verses deals with the spiritual as well as the temporal aptitudes of man. It may be noted that, v11-v13 that deal with the virtuous, the passionate and the deluded in ritualistic sense, and v23 -v28 concerning Om, Tat, Sat and Asat, of the Vedic hymns are clear interpolations for reasons the readers are familiar with. However, v7 - v10 that deal with the food habits of the virtuous, the passionate, and the deluded would pose a problem in determining whether or not they are interpolations. Can eating habits be linked to the innate nature of man in an infallible manner? Perhaps, some future research and analysis might resolve the universality or otherwise of this averment, and till then, it is appropriate to reserve the judgment on these.

Now to the text as Arjuna asks,

Ch17, V1

None the regard for scriptures

Who tend to manage life their well

What Thou say of such of beings

Virtuous, passionate or merely deluded.

arjuna uvācha

ye śhāstra-vidhim utsṛijya yajante śhraddhayānvitāḥ

teṣhāṁ niṣhṭhā tu kā kṛiṣhṇa sattvam āho rajas tamaḥ

and Krishna begins to clarify

Ch17, V2

It's one's nature that tends him

To be virtuous, passionate, or deluded

śhrī-bhagavān uvācha

tri-vidhā bhavati śhraddhā dehināṁ sā svabhāva-jā

sāttvikī rājasī chaiva tāmasī cheti tāṁ śhṛiṇu

Then, after Krishna plays his part as a dietician in v7 - v10, come these 'sacrificial' ten.

V11

aphalākāṅkṣhibhir yajño vidhi-driṣhṭo ya ijyate

yaṣhṭavyam eveti manaḥ samādhāya sa sāttvikaḥ

Sacrifice that is performed according to the scriptural injunctions without expectation of rewards, with the firm conviction of the mind that it is a matter of duty is of the nature of goodness.

V12

abhisandhāya tu phalaṁ dambhārtham api chaiva yat

ijyate bharata-śhreṣhṭha taṁ yajñaṁ viddhi rājasam

O best of the Bharatas, know that sacrifice, which is performed for material benefit, or with hypocritical aim, to be in the mode of passion.

V13

vidhi-hīnam asṛiṣhṭānnaṁ mantra-hīnam adakṣhiṇam

śhraddhā-virahitaṁ yajñaṁ tāmasaṁ parichakṣhate

Sacrifice devoid of faith and contrary to the injunctions of the scriptures, in which no food is offered, no mantras chanted, and no donation made, is to be considered in the mode of ignorance.

V14

deva-dwija-guru-prājña- pūjanaṁ śhaucham ārjavam

brahmacharyam ahinsā cha śhārīraṁ tapa uchyate

Worship of the deities, the twice born, teachers and the learned, purity, straightforwardness, chastity and non violence, these are called penance of the body.

V23

oṁ tat sad iti nirdeśho brahmaṇas tri-vidhaḥ smṛitaḥ

brāhmaṇās tena vedāśh cha yajñāśh cha vihitāḥ purā

Om, Tat, Sat, this has been declared as the triple indicator of the eternal essence. By that were created the braahmanaas, the Vedas and the sacrifices, long ago.

V24

tasmād oṁ ity udāhṛitya yajña-dāna-tapaḥ-kriyāḥ

pravartante vidhānoktāḥ satataṁ brahma-vādinām

Therefore, when performing acts of sacrifice, offering charity, or undertaking penance, expounders of the Vedas always begin by uttering "Om" according to the prescriptions of Vedic injunctions.

V25

tad ity anabhisandhāya phalaṁ yajña-tapaḥ-kriyāḥ

dāna-kriyāśh cha vividhāḥ kriyante mokṣha-kāṅkṣhibhiḥ

Persons who do not desire fruitive rewards, but seek to be free from material entanglements, utter the word "Tat" along with acts of austerity, sacrifice, and charity.

V26

sad-bhāve sādhu-bhāve cha sad ity etat prayujyate

praśhaste karmaṇi tathā sach-chhabdaḥ pārtha yujyate

The word Sat is used in the sense of existence and goodness, and also, O Paartha, the word Sat is added in the sense of an auspicious act.

V27

yajñe tapasi dāne cha sthitiḥ sad iti chochyate

karma chaiva tad-arthīyaṁ sad ity evābhidhīyate

Steadfastness in sacrifice, austerity and charity is called Sat, and also, action relation

to these is called Sat.

V28

aśhraddhayā hutaṁ dattaṁ tapas taptaṁ kṛitaṁ cha yat

asad ity uchyate pārtha na cha tat pretya no iha

Whatever is sacrificed, donated or done, and whatever penance is performed, without faith, it is called asat, O Paartha. It is neither here nor after death.

For the reasons cited supra, the above cited verses sans chapter prefix are but interpolations.