Bhagavad Gita 17.22: meaning and translation

Chapter 17: Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga. Krishna says

A gift is tāmasa, Krishna says, when it is given at the wrong place and time, to unworthy people, without respect and with contempt.

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Bhagavad Gita 17.22

अदेशकाले यद्दानमपात्रेभ्यश्च दीयते ।असत्कृतमवज्ञातं तत्तामसमुदाहृतम् ॥

Adeshakale yaddanamapatrebhyashcha diyateAsatkritamavajnatam tattamasamudahritam

adeśakāle yaddānamapātrebhyaśca dīyate |asatkṛtamavajñātaṃ tattāmasamudāhṛtam ||

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Our explanation A gift is tāmasa, Krishna says, when it is given at the wrong place and time, to unworthy people, without respect and with contempt.

हिंदी अर्थ कृष्ण कहते हैं कि वह दान तामस है जो गलत स्थान और समय पर, अयोग्य लोगों को, बिना सम्मान के और तिरस्कार के साथ दिया जाता है।

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Word by word

  1. अदेशकाले adeśakāle · at the wrong place and time (compound (masculine), locative singular) Dictionary: a-deśa-kāla, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 19, col. 1 “wrong place and time”
  2. यत् yat · which (pronoun (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: yad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 844, col. 2 “who, which, what, whichever, whatever, that”
  3. दानम् dānam · gift (noun (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: 1. dāna, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 474, col. 1 “the act of giving”
  4. अपात्रेभ्यः apātrebhyaḥ · to unworthy people (noun (neuter), dative plural) Dictionary: a-pātra, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 54, col. 1 “an undeserving or worthless object, unfit recipient, unworthy to receive gifts”
  5. च ca · and (indeclinable) Dictionary: 2. ca, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 380, col. 1 “and, both, also, moreover, as well as”
  6. दीयते dīyate · is given (present passive, 3rd person singular) Dictionary: 1. dā, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 473, col. 3 “to give, bestow, grant”
  7. असत्कृतम् asatkṛtam · without respect (past participle (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: a-sat-kṛta, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 118, col. 2 “badly treated”
  8. अवज्ञातम् avajñātam · with contempt (past participle (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: ava-jñāta, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 98, col. 2 “despised, disrespected; given (as alms) with contempt”
  9. तत् tat · that (pronoun (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: tad, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 434, col. 1 “m. he, f. she, n. it, that, this”
  10. तामसम् tāmasam · tāmasa (adjective (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: tāmasa, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 442, col. 3 “appertaining to or affected by the quality tamas”
  11. उदाहृतम् udāhṛtam · is called (past participle (neuter), nominative singular) Dictionary: ud-āhṛta, Monier-Williams 1899, p. 185, col. 3 “said, declared, illustrated; called, named, entitled”

Old translations

Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 120.

And that gift is described as dark, which is given to unfit persons, at an unfit place and time, without respect, and with contempt.

English translation: K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882); public domain. archive.org (page 120, scan leaf n133). Shown verbatim.
Compare 3 translations

Kashinath Trimbak Telang, 1882. Public domain. Page 120.

And that gift is described as dark, which is given to unfit persons, at an unfit place and time, without respect, and with contempt.

English translation: K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882); public domain. archive.org (page 120, scan leaf n133). Shown verbatim.

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Annie Besant, 1895. Public domain. Page 150.

That alms given at (unfit) place and time, and to unworthy persons, irreverently and contemptuously, that is declared tâmasic.

English translation: Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895); public domain. archive.org (page 150, scan leaf n156). Shown verbatim.

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Swami Swarupananda, 1909 (first printed 1907). Public domain. Page 315–316.

The gift that is given at the wrong place or time, to unworthy persons, without regard or with disdain, that is declared to be Tâmasic.

English translation: Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909); public domain. archive.org (page 315–316, scan leaf n317–n318). Shown verbatim.

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Cite this verse

The translation: K. T. Telang, The Bhagavadgîtâ (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882), p. 120. Bhagavad Gita 17.22.

The translation: Annie Besant, The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song (London: Theosophical Publishing Society, 1895), p. 150. Bhagavad Gita 17.22.

The translation: Swami Swarupananda, Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita (Mayavati: Prabuddha Bharata Press, 1909; first printed in Prabuddha Bharata, 1907–1909), pp. 315–316. Bhagavad Gita 17.22.

Our explanation: “Bhagavad Gita 17.22: meaning and translation.” Pujadeep. Updated October 25, 2026. https://pujadeep.com/bhagavad-gita/17/22/

Pujadeep’s explanations are free to quote with credit: name Pujadeep and link to the page. How to credit

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Classical readings, by school

No readings by school on this verse yet.

Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. Source and changes

Questions families ask

Who speaks Bhagavad Gita 17.22?

Krishna speaks this verse, in chapter 17 (Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga).

Where does the Sanskrit text come from?

Sanskrit text: The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation, 1922. Meanings: written for Pujadeep and checked against the cited edition. See the source

Is the meaning on this page a translation?

Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.

Source and licence

Sanskrit text
The Bhagavad-Gita, or The Lord's Song, with the text in Devanagari and an English translation (Annie Besant, G. A. Natesan & Co., Madras, 1922). Public domain. The Sanskrit on these pages was read from this printing’s page images.
Translation
The Bhagavadgîtâ with the Sanatsugâtîya and the Anugîtâ, translated by Kâshinâth Trimbak Telang (The Sacred Books of the East, vol. VIII, ed. F. Max Müller) (Kashinath Trimbak Telang, F. Max Müller, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1882). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
Translation
The Bhagavad Gîtâ, or The Lord's Song, translated by Annie Besant (Annie Besant, Theosophical Publishing Society, London, 1895). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
Translation
Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita, with Sanskrit Text; Paraphrase with Word-by-word Literal Translation; English Rendering and Comments, Index, &c., by the Swami Swarupananda (Himalayan Series, No. XX) (Swami Swarupananda, The Editors and Publishers, Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, Prabuddha Bharata Press, Mayavati, Almora, Himalayas, 1909). Public domain. Shown verbatim, as printed.
Common wording
In this text, 32 words follow today's common wording, checked against sanskritdocuments.org; Sanskrit Wikisource; Gita Press, Gorakhpur; GRETIL, Göttingen and Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
Our explanation
Explanation written for this site from the sources listed here, and checked against the cited edition. It is not a translation and not the only way to read the text. Free to quote with credit.
Checked
Checked against the cited edition, October 15, 2026.
Updated
October 25, 2026

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