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Bhagavad Gita 17.4

यजन्ते सात्त्विका देवान्यक्षरक्षांसि राजसाः।प्रेतान्भूतगणांश्चान्ये यजन्ते तामसा जनाः।।

yajante sāttvikā devān yakṣha-rakṣhānsi rājasāḥ pretān bhūta-gaṇānśh chānye yajante tāmasā janāḥ

Word-by-Word

SanskritTransliterationMeaning
yajanteyajanteworship
sāttvikāḥsāttvikāḥthose in the mode of goodness
devāndevāncelestial gods
yakṣhayakṣhasemi-celestial beings who exude power and wealth
rakṣhānsirakṣhānsipowerful beings who embody sensual enjoyment, revenge, and wrath
rājasāḥrājasāḥthose in the mode of passion
pretān-bhūta-gaṇānpretān-bhūta-gaṇānghosts and spirits
chachaand
anyeanyeothers
yajanteyajanteworship
tāmasāḥtāmasāḥthose in the mode of ignorance
janāḥjanāḥpersons

The sattvic, or pure, men worship the gods; the rajasic, or passionate, worship the yakshas and rakshasas; the others, the tamasic or deluded people, worship ghosts and hosts of nature-spirits.

सात्त्विक पुरुष देवताओं को पूजते हैं और राजस लोग यक्ष और राक्षसों को, तथा अन्य तामसी जन प्रेत और भूतगणों को पूजते हैं।।