Chapter XVII · Śloka 13
Śrī Kṛṣṇa uvāca
विधिहीनमसृष्टान्नं मन्त्रहीनमदक्षिणम् |
श्रद्धाविरहितं यज्ञं तामसं परिचक्षते ||
श्रद्धाविरहितं यज्ञं तामसं परिचक्षते ||
vidhi-hīnam asṛṣṭānnaṃ mantra-hīnam adakṣiṇam |
śraddhā-virahitaṃ yajñaṃ tāmasaṃ paricakṣate ||
śraddhā-virahitaṃ yajñaṃ tāmasaṃ paricakṣate ||
Sacrifice devoid of scriptural injunction, without distribution of food, without sacred chants, without priestly fees, and without faith — that is declared to be tāmasika.
Tāmasika sacrifice is stripped of everything that makes sacrifice what it is: no scripture, no sharing, no mantra, no gift, no faith. The outer shell remains but the interior has been hollowed out — it is the form of worship emptied of its substance.