विधिहीनमसृष्टान्नं मन्त्रहीनमदक्षिणम् ।श्रद्धाविरहितं यज्ञं तामसं परिचक्षते ॥
vidhihīnam asṛṣṭānnaṃ mantrahīnam adakṣiṇam |śraddhāvirahitaṃ yajñaṃ tāmasaṃ paricakṣate ||
- विधिहीनम् · vidhihīnam
- devoid of rule
- असृष्टान्नम् · asṛṣṭānnam
- with no food shared, no distribution
- मन्त्रहीनम् · mantrahīnam
- without sacred words
- अदक्षिणम् · adakṣiṇam
- without gifts to the priests
- श्रद्धाविरहितम् · śraddhāvirahitam
- empty of faith
- यज्ञम् · yajñam
- sacrifice
- तामसम् · tāmasam
- dark, of tamas
- परिचक्षते · paricakṣate
- they call
“Sacrifice without rule, without sharing of food, without sacred words, without gifts — and empty of faith — is called dark.”
— Original plain-language translation
Five absences define tamasic worship: no order, no generosity, no prayer, no gratitude, no heart. A rite can be perfectly staged yet spiritually vacant. Faithless form is the husk without the grain.
— Reader's notes (original)