17-1

अर्जुन उवाच -
ये शास्त्र विधिम् उत्सृज्य यजन्ते श्रद्धयाऽन्विताः ।
तेषाम् निष्ठा तु का कृष्ण सत्त्वमाहो रजस् तमः ॥ १ ॥

arjuna uvAca -
ye zAstra vidhim utsRjya yajante zraddhayA'nvitAH |
teSAm niSThA tu kA kRSNa sattvamAho rajas tamaH || 1 ||

अर्जुन उवाच [arjuna uvAca] Arjuna said - का [kA] ‘What is निष्ठा [niSThA] the final state of achievement तेषाम् [teSAm] of people ये यजन्ते [ye yajante] who persevere with faith श्रद्धयाऽन्विताः [zraddhayA'nvitAH] and focus, उत्सृज्य [utsRjya] disregarding शास्त्र विधिम् [zAstra vidhim] the imperatives laid down in the scriptures? सत्त्वम् [sattvam] Is it in sattva , the state of serenity? आहो [Aho] or रजस् [rajas] Or in rajas , being resourceful? तमः [tamaH] Or in tamas , the state of laziness?’

What is the achievement of someone who discards the methods in the scriptures and yet perseveres with faith and focus? Is it the sattva state-of-being, in which a person is serene? Is it, rajas , being resourceful? Or is its tamas , the state of laziness?

This Shloka uses the word निष्ठा [niSThA] in the sense of ‘achievement’, which refers to a stable state-of-being achieved by a person. ‘Achievement’ here is to settle in one of the three qualities . Arjuna asks if this person achieves the state of sattva , rajas or tamas ?

In response to this question, the Lord describes that the methods and forms of worship described in the scriptures are according to the three qualities . To describe this, the Lord shows that there are three areas of focus in the scriptures.