Karma Yoga · Verse 13

यज्ञशिष्टाशिनः सन्तो मुच्यन्ते सर्वकिल्बिषैः | भुञ्जते ते त्वघं पापा ये पचन्त्यात्मकारणात्

yajña-śiṣṭāśinaḥ santo mucyante sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ | bhuñjate te tv aghaṃ pāpā ye pacanty ātma-kāraṇāt

The saints who eat what remains of the sacrifice are liberated from all sins, but the sinners who cook for themselves eat only impurity.

The concept of yajña-śiṣṭa — remnant of sacrifice — is central. It is not survival of the fittest, but participation in sacred order.

Sarva-kilbiṣaiḥ — from all sins/impurities — indicates that selfishness is the root of all contaminated action. Ātma-kāraṇāt — “for one’s own benefit” — distinguishes the mercantile act from the sacrificial act. Cooking, eating, living — everything is transformed by the intention with which it is performed.