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Chapter 17 · The Divisions of Faith · 28 verses

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Questions & crisisChapter 17 · The Divisions of Faith
16.2417.2

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 17.1

Arjuna asks about faith without scriptural guidance

अर्जुन उवाच

ये शास्त्रविधिमुत्सृज्य यजन्ते श्रद्धयान्विता: ।

तेषां निष्ठा तु का कृष्ण सत्त्वमाहो रजस्तम: ॥ १ ॥

arjuna uvāca

ye śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya

yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ

teṣāṁ niṣṭhā tu kā kṛṣṇa

sattvam āho rajas tamaḥ

Translation

Arjuna inquired: O Kṛṣṇa, what is the situation of those who do not follow the principles of scripture but worship according to their own imagination? Are they in goodness, in passion or in ignorance?

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

What this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.

Faith Without Scriptural Guidance

  1. 1Arjuna asks whether worship based on imagination rather than scripture is in goodness, passion or ignorance.
  2. 2Prabhupāda explains Arjuna’s doubt: can faithful worship outside scriptural rules lead to real knowledge and perfection?
  3. 3Consider whether your worship follows scripture or your own imagination.

Where we are

In the story

Chapter 17, The Divisions of Faith: arjuna asks about faith without scriptural guidance.

What it teaches

Theme summary

Honest questions open the way to wisdom.

2

Key ideas in this verse

The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.

Key ideas: saṁśaya, viṣāda.

3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does BG 17.1 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to questions & crisis?

Practice

Write down the real question behind your current dilemma.

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Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

BG 1.28Compassion entangled with attachmentBG 1.46The bow falls

Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.

Ask the study guide

Ask about BG 17.1 — get a simple answer linked to related ideas and verses.

Back to step 3The key ideasNext · Step 5 of 7 · 5 minLive the teachingsBring it into your day with a practice and a question, straight from Prabhupāda's purports.