Chapter XVII · Śloka 22
Śrī Kṛṣṇa uvāca
अदेशकाले यद्दानमपात्रेभ्यश्च दीयते |
असत्कृतमवज्ञातं तत्तामसमुदाहृतम् ||
असत्कृतमवज्ञातं तत्तामसमुदाहृतम् ||
adeśa-kāle yad dānam apātrebhyaś ca dīyate |
asat-kṛtam avajñātaṃ tat tāmasam udāhṛtam ||
asat-kṛtam avajñātaṃ tat tāmasam udāhṛtam ||
That charity given at the wrong place and wrong time, to unworthy recipients, without honor and with contempt — that is declared to be tāmasika.
Tāmasika charity violates all three coordinates of right giving: wrong place, wrong time, wrong recipient. Worse, it is offered with dismissiveness and contempt — the giving is itself a form of disdain, souring what might have been an act of grace.