Bhagavad Gita · Shraddhatraya Vibhaga YogaChapter 17, Shloka 4 (17.4)
Original Sanskrit · श्रीभगवान्
यजन्ते सात्त्विका देवान् यक्षरक्षांसि राजसाः
प्रेतान् भूतगणांश्चान्ये यजन्ते तामसा जनाः
॥ 17.4 ॥
yajante sāttvikā devān yakṣarakṣāṃsi rājasāḥ
pretān bhūtagaṇāṃścānye yajante tāmasā janāḥ
Translation
"Sattvic people worship the devas, rajasic people the yakshas and rakshasas, and the others, the tamasic, worship ghosts (pretas) and hosts of spirits."
Interpretation
Shankaracharya. pretān bhūtagaṇāṃś ca saptamātṛkādīṃś ca; kaścid eva sahasreṣu devapūjādiparaḥ sattvaniṣṭho bhavati — among thousands, only one is sattvic.
Acharya Ramanuja. duḥkhāsaṃbhinnotkṛṣṭasukhahetubhūtadevayāgaviṣayā śraddhā sāttvikī — faith that leads to the highest happiness unmixed with sorrow is sattvic; duḥkhaprāyā atyalpasukhajananī (tāmasī; corpus spells it tāsamī).
Shridhara Swami. sattvādiprakṛtīnāṃ tattaddevatānāṃ tu pūjārucibhis tattatpūjakānāṃ sāttvikatvādi jñātavyam — from the inclination of one's worship, the guna of the worshipper can be inferred.
Madhusudana Saraswati. Examples of deities: sattvic — rudrādīn; rajasic — yakṣān kuberādīn (yakshas such as Kubera) and rakshasas such as Nirriti; and pretas = viprādayaḥ svadharmāt pracyutā dehapātād ūrdhvaṃ — people fallen from their own dharma, after death.
AI-assisted draft translation — under review.