Verse 17.7
Speaker: Krishna
Sanskrit
आहारस्त्वपि सर्वस्य त्रिविधो भवति प्रियः | यज्ञस्तपस्तथा दानं तेषां भेदमिमं शृणु ||७||
Transliteration (IAST)
āhāras tv api sarvasya trividho bhavati priyaḥ | yajñas tapas tathā dānaṁ teṣāṁ bhedam imaṁ śṛṇu ||7||
Word-by-Word Meanings
āhāraḥ-food
sarvasya-of everyone
trividhaḥ-threefold
priyaḥ-dear/preferred
yajñaḥ-sacrifice
tapaḥ-austerity
dānam-charity
bhedam-distinction/difference
Translation
The food that is dear to each person is also of three kinds. So too are sacrifice, austerity, and charity. Hear now the distinction among them.
Commentary
Krishna introduces the practical application of the threefold classification to daily life. Shankaracharya notes that this verse serves as a transition (saṅkrama) to the detailed analysis of food, sacrifice, austerity, and charity according to the three gunas. Madhva emphasizes that even mundane activities like eating reveal one's predominant guna.
Themes
dharmakarma