विधिहीनमसृष्टान्नं मन्त्रहीनमदक्षिणम् श्रद्धाविरहितं यज्ञं तामसं परिचक्षते
vidhi-hīnam asṛṣṭānnaṁ mantra-hīnam adakṣiṇam śraddhā-virahitaṁ yajñaṁ tāmasaṁ paricakṣate
Synonyms
vidhi-hīnam—without scriptural direction; asṛṣṭa-annam—without distribution of prasādam; mantra-hīnam—with no chanting of the Vedic hymns; adakṣiṇam—with no remunerations to the priests; śraddhā—faith; virahitam—without; yajñam—sacrifice; tāmasam—in the mode of ignorance; paricakṣate—is to be considered..
Translation
And that sacrifice performed in defiance of scriptural injunctions, in which no spiritual food is distributed, no hymns are chanted and no remunerations are made to the priests, and which is faithless—that sacrifice is of the nature of ignorance.
Purport
Faith in the mode of darkness or ignorance is actually faithlessness. Sometimes people worship some demigod just to make money and then spend the money for recreation, ignoring the scriptural injunctions. Such ceremonial shows of religiosity are not accepted as genuine. They are all in the mode of darkness; they produce a demoniac mentality and do not benefit human society.