अभिसन्धाय तु फलं दम्भार्थमपि चैव यत् | इज्यते भरतश्रेष्ठ तं यज्ञं विद्धि राजसम् ||
abhisandhāya tu phalaṁ dambhārtham api caiva yat ijyate bharata-śreṣṭha taṁ yajñaṁ viddhi rājasam
Translation
But sacrifice that is offered for reward, or for the sake of display — know that, O best of the Bharatas, to be rajasic.
Interpretation
Rajasic yajna: performed with expectation of specific results (abhisandhaya tu phalam — keeping the desired fruit in mind) or for show (dambhartham — for the purpose of displaying piety and gaining social status). This includes religious performance for reputation, spiritual practice undertaken to gain powers (siddhis), or ritual worship as a transaction with the Divine: 'I give you this, you give me that.' The motivation corrupts the act: even a correctly performed ritual is diminished when the heart behind it is calculating rather than giving.